Wrath of the North
by Revan Knight
Summary: Shortly after the red wedding, the Lannisters learn that someone new has risen to challenge them. Tywin realizes too late: he pissed off the wrong bastard.
1. Prologue

**Hi all. I want to get a few things out of the way.**

 **First, this story is inspired and based off another fic called Dragons of Ice and Fire. It basically is about Jon finding an ice dragon beyond the wall and awakening it to help the free folk escape south as well as Jon's introduction into the war of five kings. I really enjoyed it, but always wanted to see Jon be the one to take on Twyin Lannister (something that is unfortunately really rare in fanfics). So I decided to take the idea from that story and see if I could write my own. So, if anyone notices similarities between this and Dragons of Ice and Fire, that is why. No plagiarism is intended, I see this as more of a homage to a great story. In fact, I highly recommend reading it (it's on archive of your ).**

 **Second, this is my first attempt at writing a fanfic. Any advice is welcome, especially any you have on dialogue, but please don't be rude about it. Plus, I'll also edit chapters I already published if I think I messed up or I can rethink something.**

 **Finally, I have no idea how long this story will go on or how soon I'll update. As I'm sure all of you know, real life tends to get in the way of writing fanfics. I have an idea on where I want this to go, but not really sure how, or even if I'll get it there.**

 **Thanks for your time, and I hope you enjoy.**

Tyrion Lannister and Oberyn Martell were on their way to the throne room from the city streets of King's Landing, Tyrion having just pulled Oberyn away from a potential bar fight with two soldiers from his father's army.

"The last time I was in the capitol was for another wedding" Oberyn said to Tyrion. "My sister Elia and Rhaegar Targaryen. My sister loved him, bore his children, fed them at her own breast. She wouldn't let a wet nurse touch them. And beautiful, _noble_ Rhaegar Targaryen, left her for another woman."

"My prince and lord." The voice that called out to them interrupted their conversation. Both men turned to see a lannister guard running up to them. "My apologizes, but both of you are to report to the throne room."

"I'll greet Tywin when I'm ready too" Oberyn had told the messenger.

"No, my prince" the messenger replied. "King Joffrey has called all members of the council and all the nobility currently in the city to meet in the throne room."

"Did my nephew bother to say what this is about" Tyrion asked.

"No sir, but I do know that three visitors arrived at the keep and said they were to deliver a message to the people of the city."

For reasons he couldn't fathom, this made Tyrion feel a sense of unease, making it the latest in series of mysterious premonition-like feelings that had plagued him lately. These feelings started a few months after the red wedding. The thought of that atrocity still made him angry, despite the fact that it had dealt with an enemy of the family.

Robb Stark, the proclaimed King in the North, had been fighting a war against the Lannisters in response to the murder of his father by his idiot nephew Joffrey. To the surprise of the entire realm, Robb Stark managed to smash every army that was fielded against him (at least when he was leading the northern forces). However, Tyrion's father Twyin learned that Robb and broken a marriage agreement with the Freys of the Twins to wed someone else. His father saw an opportunity, and arranged for Robb and his army to be betrayed and massacred by the Freys and Boltons, one of Stark's vassal houses. The betrayal took place at the Twins during a wedding and saw the deaths of Robb, his wife and mother, as well as the majority of his army.

Tyrion had been absolutely disgusted when he found out about this. Yes, they had been at war and cheating in times of war was something he supported. But to arrange for people to be slaughtered at a wedding, under the protection of guest right, was sacrilegious. Tywin had justified it by saying it was to stop the war, to protect the family, but Tyrion could tell it was equally about getting revenge on the Starks, who had humiliated the Lannisters time and again during the war. To cap it all off, Sansa Stark, Robb's sister, was still being held in the city. She was devastated upon hearing the events that took place, and Tyrion, as her husband (the two having been forcefully married by Tywin), held great sympathy for her.

still, whatever the reason for these ill feelings, Tyrion had pushed them aside whenever they came. He'd deal with it when it arrived.

Little did he realize, he was about to learn the source of these horrid feelings.

Arriving in the throne room, Tyrion saw the rest of his family near the Iron Throne before a crowd that half filled the room. Cersei, his ill-tempered and slightly unhinged sister, was sitting to the right of the throne that her inbred son Joffrey occupied while his father stood in front of them. On the left was his brother Jaime, standing guard as a member of the kingsguard should. Tyrion also noticed that Sansa and Margery Tyrell, Joffrey's future queen, were also present among the crowd of nobility, as was Margery's grandmother Olenna. The crowd was split to the left and right of the room while three hooded figures stood before the royal family. Tyrion could only guess these were the messengers.

Tyrion marched right to his family while Oberyn joined his paramour Ellaria in the crowd. His father gave him an irritated look, as if he felt Tyrion had deliberately delayed himself getting there.

"Now than," Tywin spoke, "perhaps you can give us this message you claim to have for us. However I demand you remove your hoods and cloaks first."

The first of the three figures stepped forward. "Y-yes si-sir" he stuttered. It was clear that something had terrified this man. Al three men pulled their hoods back, and the sight caused many in the crowd to gasp and reel from them.

Parts of their faces were deformed by dark blue blotches. They looked like bruises but much, much worse. Tyrion looked on in shock. Frostbite, he realized.

The three men than removed their cloaks, showing they were wearing the armor and symbol of guards from House Frey of the Twins. The leader was the one who did the talking. "My name is Damian Rivers. Like my companions, we were part of Lord Walder Frey's forces."

" _Were_ part of" Jaime inquired.

"Yes. House Frey no longer has a need for soldiers or guards. They have been rendered extinct."

The man's words set off a chorus of talk throughout the throne room. House Frey, extinct? They had just been promoted to the great house of the riverlands by Tywin, same as the Boltons were now the wardens of the north.

"Extinct?!" Cersei exclaimed from her seat next to Joffrey. "House Frey had over a hundred members!"

"Yes my lady" the Frey guard responded. "They are all dead now. And there is more."

The horror continued as one of the other men produced a sack and dumped it contents onto the floor. Many more gasps were heard throughout the room when the contents of the bag were revealed to be blocks of ice that contained severed heads. Upon getting a closer look, Tyrion realized they were the heads of Walder Frey, Roose Bolton and his son Ramsay Show. What could've done something like this?

"How did this happen" Tywin inquired, his voice having a slightly apprehensive tone.

"Well sir, it happened about two weeks ago. I was just waking up when I heard the warning bells of the barracks go off. I quickly dawned my armor and ran for the outside... only to be hit by a wave of sheer cold."

"Sheer cold" Joffrey scoffed.

"Yes" the man replied. "Once I recovered from the shock, I saw what had caused it: a massive wall of ice, with at least thirty of my fellow guards frozen in it. I looked on in horror, until I heard a roar from above me. I looked up and saw..."

"Yes" Tyrion asked.

"I saw a huge dragon. It was circling the entirety of the Twins breathing dragonfire, but it wasn't burning anything. This dragon's breath was what was freezing everything."

This news restarted the talking around the room. Tywin was actually looking nervous. Yes, that sounded like an insane story, but there were three men with horrendous frostbite standing before them. When no one commented to him, the guard continued.

"The dragon stopped once it had created a wall of ice around the entirety of the Twins, including the river underneath the bridge. At that point, the dragon landed in the main courtyard, and about thirty men descended from the creature's back. They appeared to be wildlings from beyond the wall. The men went on a rampage, killing any guard that tried to stop them and rounding up all the inhabitants of the Twins."

Wildlings and ice dragons?! Tyrion could hardly believe this.

"Our soldiers began throwing down their weaponswhen it became obvious they couldn't win. Soon, the entire residential populations of the Twins were gathered in the courtyard. The leader had Walder Frey dragged before him and whispered something in his ear. Whatever it was terrified Lord Frey and he immediately started begging for mercy, but the leader began beating him. While this was going on, the wildlings separated the smallfolk from the nobility and soldiers, herding them into some of the nearby buildings. They were joined by the women, children and elderly of the Freys. Once this was done, the leader stopped torturing Lord Frey and forced him to look towards the buildings. He shouted out to the dragon, and... and... it engulfed the buildings with it breath. By the time it was finished, the buildings had been reduced to frozen rubble."

No talk was being shared amongst the crowd now. Tyrion felt horrified. These wildlings had slaughtered the entire population of the Twins. Men, women and children.

"After the dragon stood down, the wildlings' leader nodded towards his men, and they proceeded to brutally slaughter all the male Frey's who were still present. The leader saved Lord Frey for last."

"How is it that you three are still alive" Tywin asked, sounding slightly frightened by the story.

"I don't know why we were chosen, my lord. But the leader said he needed witnesses to tell the story of what had happened. He then wrote a letter and told give it to the royal family here in King's Landing."

At this, the guard reached into his robe and pulled out the letter. Tywin walked over, took it, unsealed it, and read to the entire room.

 _To Joffrey Waters, the bastard king of House Lannister,_

 _I hereby offer you these terms of surrender in the war that your grandfather started by massacring my family._

 _First, my sister Sansa Stark is to be returned home alive and unharmed. Her marriage is to be annulled as I know she was forced into it against her will._

 _Second, you are to step down from the iron throne, for not only are you a usurper of my birthright but also the product of the affair between your mother and uncle the kingslayer._

 _Third and lastly, you are to have your grandfather Tywin Lannister put to death and his head sent to Winterfell. This is to be his punishment for the crimes he committed against my mother's co-wife and children as well as orchestrating the red wedding. It is also meant to be your punishment for murdering the man who raised me as his own son._

 _You have two months to comply with these demands. If they are not met, or if you or any of your vassals take any further action against me or my people, my dragon and I will take flight yet again, and King's Landing and all its people will suffer the fate that befell the Twins._

 _Jaehaerys Targaryen, son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, King in the North, rightful heir to the iron throne, Rider of the ice dragon_.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Promise me Ned. Promise me."_

Jon woke from his slumber, once again after dreaming of the death of Lyanna Stark. This was starting to become more than a little annoying. His mother's death was not something he wanted to keep reliving every night for the rest of his life. Sighing in frustration, he decided to get up, rubbing his eyes to clear the blurriness. Knowing he would be unable to get back to sleep for a while no matter how tired he was, he dressed in his winter robes and left his chambers, careful not to wake his slumbering direwolf Ghost. Perhaps a short walk would help him clear his head.

He made his way outside of Winterfell's keep, feeling a slight breeze when he opened the doors. He sat down on the steps leading to the entrance. He guessed that aside from the guards patrolling the castle walls that he was the only one up. It was still night and judging by the moon's position he still had several hours until the sun rose. Looking around, he saw the discarded remnants of reconstruction materials littering the courtyard. For his first month as the new King in the North, one of the primary focuses had been to rebuild Winterfell from the destruction Ramsay Bolton brought on it when he supposedly liberated it from the ironborn's occupation. Though this was actually the easiest of his problems.

Jon was pulled out of his brooding by a strange shadow moving across the courtyard. By the size and shape, he knew to look up for the source. His ice dragon Blizzard was soaring across the night sky silent as an owl. He couldn't help but smile as he saw his loyal friend eclipsing the moon in flight. At about three times the size of a fully grown vaylarian dragon, he was an impressive sight to behold. His forelimbs were another key difference from 'regular' dragons (as if giant flying, element breathing reptiles could possibly be considered regular in westeros), as was his blueish-white scales and deep blue eyes. But his most unique feature was what led Jon to give him his name: while most people considered dragons to strictly be fire drakes, Blizzard's magical breath froze anything it touched. This was the last lesson that the Boltons and Freys learned before they were slain.

Jon's anger rose when he remembered the people who betrayed his brother (really cousin, but he'd always consider Lord Stark's children his siblings). In his mind, there was no excuse for turning of Robb the way they had. So what if Robb married for love rather than duty as he originally intended. It didn't justify luring him and his family into a trap and slaughtering them beneath one's own roof. Jon had been sure to pay them back for the injustice that befell Robb.

Of course, they were just the pawns that carried the massacre out. There was still one other who needed to be brought down: the mastermind of the infamous Red Wedding, Tywin Lannister. Jon would never forget what that monster had done to Robb, or his half siblings Rhaenys and Aegon.

Remembering his half siblings only brought back the reminder of his mother. His mother and his real father. Jon once more found himself reliving when he had learned the truth.

* * *

 **Months ago**

Jon was currently sitting in the cave that he'd been brought to. After setting out on the great ranging with the other members of the night's watch, Jon had soon felt a strange sensation in his mind. It was like a powerful force was calling out to him, imploring him to come. Although he tried to ignore it, about a week after departing Craster's Keep Jon found it too... desperate?... to do so. So one night, while the rest of the party slept, Jon and Ghost had set off into the unknown, trying to find the source of this disturbance.

Their search lasted so long that Jon lost track of when he'd left. He knew the rest of the night's watch would consider him a deserter, but hopefully Commander Mormont would hear him out instead of just having him immediately put to death when he did make his way back. Finally, they stumbled upon a cave that had what looked like a child standing near the entrance. But upon getting a closer look, Jon saw this was no human child. He could hardly believe his eyes: the figure looked like a person that plants growing out of their body. Or maybe a better description would be a plant like human, as their limbs looked more like tree branches and leaves.

A child of the forest! He thought they were extinct.

"Jon" the child called out after she saw him.

"How... how do you..."

"We have been waiting for you to come to us. Please, follow me."

The child led him and Ghost into the cave, where Jon came face to face with even more of her kind. The child how had greeted him introduced herself as Leaf, and told him that their friend needed to speak with him. She led Jon further into her home, until finally they came across a man sitting at the base of an enormous set of tree roots.

"Greetings Jon. I am the three-eyed raven."

Jon recognized the man's voice as having the same sense as the disturbance that had brought him here. "I'm... I'm pleased to meet you. But how do you know me, and why am I here?" "I will explain everything. Please, sit down."

They talked for quite some time. The man explained that he was a powerful greenseer, meaning he could look into the past of any happening throughout history as well as communicate with people mentally. He had resided with the last of the children of the forest for years. He explained much of what was going on in the lands north of the wall, telling Jon something that chilled him to the bones. The white walkers had returned.

White walkers. The great evil that had threatened all of westeros during the long night. The creatures that could reanimate dead bodies of people and animals to fight for them. The riders of ice spiders. Tales of these monsters had haunted Jon's nightmares for years during his childhood. All of westeros knew of these monsters, but none thought they were real: the southern kingdoms were all populated by the andals, who considered them nothing more than fairy tales, while the north's first men thought they were long gone, like the children of the forest were thought to be.

"But why bring me here" Jon asked. "What does their return have to do with me?"

"Their return, nothing" The three-eyed raven responded. "But as far as stopping them is concerned, you are part of the answer."

"WHAT?!"

The three-eyed raven laughed slightly at Jon's reaction. "Tell me, are you familiar with something called the prince who was promised?"

"The prince who was promised? No."

"There is an ancient prophecy that foretells the return of the long night, and only the prince who was promised will be able to stop it."

It took Jon a few moments to realize what he was hearing. "You think, I'm..."

"It's possible" the man replied. "Even with greenseeing, telling the future is extremely difficult. But I can say that you are one of the people who will lead the fight against the white walkers. The fate of life on this continent hangs in the balance of the coming storm."

"But how?!" Jon exclaimed. "How can I possibly be this prince that was promised? I'm just a bastard. I'm no more than a mark on Eddard Stark's honor."

"Is that really what you believe? I think it's time you knew the truth about who you are."

The three-eyed raven stood up, beckoning Jon to do the same. He led Jon to the tree roots.

"Grab my shoulder." Jon did so, and suddenly they were no longer in the cave.

They were standing in a beautiful southern forest. By the looks the trees, it was summer.

"What just happened" Jon asked.

"We have stepped back in time. I intend to show you the truth."

Jon was about to ask again, but stopped as two figures emerged from the treeline. One was a man of dornish descent while the other could easily be identified as a Targaryen by his silver-white hair. He couldn't explain it, but somehow Jon immediately knew who this Targaryen was. "Rhaegar."

"The crown prince, the last dragon. And the man by his side is Ser Arthur Dayne, the sword of the morning. The events we are seeing are from the tournament of harrenhall."

"I know of that" Jon said. "That was the tournament that started the descent to Robert's rebellion. Rhaegar kidnapped my aunt Lyanna when she was betrothed to Robert baratheon."

"Is that what really happened? Watch and see for yourself."

They watched as Rhaegar and Ser Dayne pushed their way past a set of bushes, only to stop as they saw another figure by a huge lake. This figure was dressed in knight's armor, and their shield was adorned with a weirwood tree as its symbol. Rhaegar and Ser Dayne drew their weapons and stepped closer.

"Turn around" Rhaegar said. The knight did as they were told. "Remove your helmet and tells us who you are." The knight complied once again. But as they removed their helmet, a wave of long dark hair fell loosely to the side. Rhaegar and Ser Dayne dropped their swords in shock as the knight was revealed to actually be a woman.

"My name is Lyanna Stark. I am the daughter of Rickard Stark, warden of the north." Jon was in shock. Before him stood his aunt Lyanna, the woman whom Rhaegar Targaryen kidnapped, plunging westeros into rebellion.

"I... you are not what we were expecting" Ser Dayne said. Next to him, Rhaegar looked like he was too stunned to talk.

Lyanna let out a slight laugh. "I imagine seeing a woman in knight's armor is something many would be surprised at. If I recall, you're the crown prince and the sword of the morning, correct?"

"Yes" Ser Dayne replied. Rhaegar still looked like he was strugging to speak. Lyanna turned to him. "I was touched by the song you sang at that dinner a few nights ago, sire. You are truly a talented singer."

"Uh..." Rhaegar couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence, until Ser Dayne wacked him on the back of his head. "Ow! Uh, I mean, thank you."

"If I may, I would like to get out of this armor" Lyanna said.

"Of course" Rhaegar said. "We'll let you." The two men turned around as Lyanna discarded her armor and put on an elegant looking dress. "Ok, you can look again. What were you doing here?"

"Well" Rhaegar said "your victory in the joust got a lot of attention. My father, in his unstable condition, thought you were an enemy and told us to find you."

"Oh. Well, I can assure both of you I am no enemy of the crown. I was merely trying to help a friend."

"What do you mean" Ser Dayne asked.

"Those knights I beat, their squires had been bullying a friend of mine. I needed to get them in a position to teach their squires a lesson."

"You disguised yourself as a knight to help a friend" Rhaegar asked.

"That's right sire."

"Oh, I remember" Rhaegar suddenly exclaimed. "You're the woman who my cousin Robert is engaged to. I must say, he is a lucky man."

Lyanna suddenly looked saddened. "Is something wrong" Ser Dayne asked.

"Robert" Lyanna replied. "I know what kind of man he is. I won't be able to trust him to stay faithful to me. Did you know he fathered his first child the year he reached adulthood?"

"Well" Rhaegar awkwardly started. "I know his is a womanizer, but he was quite elated when he learned you two were to get married. I'm sure he will cast his ways aside."

"My brother Ned said the same thing" Lyanna said. "Though I doubt it will happen."

Jon watched the scene play out for a while longer until Lyanna decided to mount a horse and return to the tournament. Rhaegar and Ser Dayne stared after her.

"I don't suppose it is too late to reconsider my place in the kingsguard" Ser Dayne asked.

Rhaegar turned towards his friend with a strange look. "What do you think" he replied.

Suddenly the scenery changed. Before him stood Rhaegar and Lyanna. They were facing each other and holding hands before a septa. To the side, a dornish woman stood holding an infant in her arms while a little girl clung to her leg. "Elia Martell and her children" Jon said. This time the three-eyed raven did not respond. The septa sopke up, drawing Jon's attention back to Rhaegar and his aunt. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may..." he stopped talking as Lyanna lunged forward, throwing her arms around Rhaegar's neck and passionately kissing him. "Umm... go on kissing the bride."

To the side, Elia Martell laughed as her husband responded to Lyanna's actions in kind. Jon couldn't understand the scene playing out before him. Rhaegar had kidnapped Lyanna, how could she be so happy. Elia and her children approached Rhaegar and Lyanna as they finally broke their kiss and embraced Lyanna. "Welcome to the family sister."

"I feel so lucky" Elia's daughter said. "Now I get two mommies."

The scene before him changed once more. They were now in a desert near a single tower, with Ser Dayne and another man blocking a younger Eddard Stark and his companions from the entrance.

"The mad king is dead" his father said. "Rhaegar lies beneath the ground. Why weren't you there to protect your prince?"

"Our prince wanted us here" Ser Dayne replied.

The scene changed once again. Now they were inside the tower. Lyanna was laying on a bed soaked with blood, a newborn baby in her arms. "His name is Jaehaerys Targaryen" Lyanna weakly said to his father. "If Robert or the Lannisters find out, they'll kill my son. Please Ned, I beg you to protect him. Promise me Ned. Promise me." "I will keep him safe" Eddard Stark tearfully replied. Lyanna passed her child to him, and then she breathed her last breath.

The scene changed one final time to his father holding his nephew while he was sitting by a small campfire with one of his previous companions. Jon needed to get closer to hear what they were saying."

"I just can't believe the war was all for nothing old friend." "I know Howland" his father replied as he stared at Jaehaerys sleeping in his arms. "But how are we going to keep your nephew safe" Holland Reed asked. "I don't have a nephew. My sister had no children, understand? This boy is my son that I fathered during the war, and his name is Jon. Jon Snow"

Jon didn't even notice when they were back in the cave. He was in such shock at what he just saw.

"So Jon, do you understand now" the three eyed raven asked, pulling Jon back to reality. "You must have wondered why Lord Stark refused to discuss your mother with anyone. It's because he was trying to protect you. You are not his son, you are his nephew. Also, you are not a bastard. You are the rightful heir to the iron throne."

Jon fell to his knees in tears. His entire life had just been shattered before his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**I want to say thank you to the people who said Jon's behavior was way off. I actually expected more people to comment on that sooner. In the story this is based on, Jon was so enraged at Robb's death that he immediately flew his dragon south and obliterated the twins, killing the entire population before he realized there were hostages and civilians there with the freys. Now, that being said, in my story Jon didn't kill anyone innocent. What you read in the first chapter is what Jon wants his enemies to think happened. You'll find out more about this in later chapters. Its all part of his plan.**

 **Also, this chapter is a continuation of the flashback that started in the previous chapter.**

It was about a week since Jon had learned the truth about his parentage, and while he had mostly accepted it he still found it hard to fully believe. The man he thought had been his father was actually his uncle while his apparent aunt was actually his mother. His father had been blamed for starting a war that tore the continent apart by taking his mother, when in reality she had ran away to be with him. All the people who died in Robert Baratheon's rebellion had died for nothing; his uncle Brandon and Grandfather Rickard, his father Rhaegar killed by Lyanna's betrothed, Elia and her children (Jon's siblings) dead on the orders of Tywin Lannister so he could suck up to Robert, and the countless soldiers who died on both sides. ALL FOR NOTHING!

There was one more thing that the truth had made him realize: he was the rightful king of Westeros. Talk about ironic. All those years he spent in Winterfell being looked upon with distain by Lord Stark's wife, being forced to sit away from the rest of his family during meal times, the constant insults Theon Greyjoy would send at him. If the truth had been known, they all would've treated him differently. But Jon couldn't fault his uncle for hiding the truth, for if it was known he probably wouldn't be alive right now.

He had heard the stories of the war, and he remembered how much Robert Baratheon came to hate all members of the Targaryen family following Lyanna's disappearance. He had looked down upon Rhaynes and Aegon's dead bodies, mangled and deformed beyond recognition by Tywin's pet monster Gregor Clegane, and he had rewarded Tywin for it while calling his siblings 'dragonspawn.' That one incident had nearly shattered his lifelong friendship with Lord Stark. Really, Jon couldn't understand how his uncle could possibly get past that, even if they were both sad about Lyanna's death. There was little doubt in his mind that Robert would kill him if he learned the truth, and if by some insane chance he could be made to see reason, Tywin would stop at nothing to kill him once his daughter married the new king. The old politician would see him as a threat to his grandchildren's hold on the throne.

Jon could hold no ill towards Lord Stark for lying to him all his life. He had saved his life, and let him grow up with a family. No matter what, he would always see Lord Stark as his father; though he would also honor Rhaegar by calling him father as well. He had not once hated Lady Stark for how she treated him; he knew that to her, he was the embodiment of her husband's betrayal of their marriage. Now Jon could only feel pity for her. He made a mental note to find her someday and tell her the truth so she didn't go through life thinking her husband had dishonored her.

"Jon" Leaf called out. Jon put his brooding aside and to face the child. "We need to..."

"I know, Leaf. You all have been patient with me as I struggled to accept all of this, and I now think I can hear you out."

Leaf led Jon back to the three eyed raven, who was still sitting at the base of the tree roots. If Jon didn't know better, he would think the man hadn't moved once the entire week. "Welcome back Jon. Are you ready to continue?"

"Yes" Jon replied. "Why did you bring me here? What is the point of telling me the truth of my parentage?"

"Because westeros needs you Jon. Like I said before, I can't say if you are the prince that was promised or not. There are other people it could be, including your aunt Daenerys (the term prince simply refers to the heir in the valyrian language). But regardless, if there is to be any hope in the coming war, than you must ultimately take your place as king."

Jon recoiled in shock. "Me? Become king?"

"Yes. You are the rightful heir to the iron throne. It will take all the kingdoms of men working together to fight the white walkers off this time."

"Why must we fight them off? The wall was built to keep them out, and it has for eight thousand years."

The three eyed raven's response caught him completely off guard. "The wall will be useless when winter comes in the next few years."

"Useless?! But how?"

"Jon, the white walkers weren't always the monsters they are now. They were once men, like you. But they were invading westeros and butchering the children of the forest. At some point, the children became desperate, and they captured a man whom they turned into the night king, the first and strongest of the white walkers."

"They CREATED those monsters?!"

"Yes, they created them as a means to fight back against the first men. Once the children and first men agreed to peace, the children had the white walkers banished to the lands of always winter in the far north. But what the children didn't realize is that their creations were growing in strength. Finally, when the coldest winter in history came, the white walkers gained enough strength to break free of the children's control, and they went on a rampage throughout the continent bringing about the long night."

"Are you saying the winter season makes them stronger?"

"Yes, and during the long night the winter was so bitter that it made the white walkers stronger than you can imagine."

"But the long night's winter passed. How can the... wait. You can't mean..."

The three eyed raven's face became extremely grim. "The coming winter will rival the one that came at the time of the long night. When it does, the white walkers will become so powerful they will be able to break through the wall, and they will finish what they started thousands of years ago. If westeros isn't united against them when that happens, they will already have won."

The three eyed raven paused as Jon reflected on this new information."Jon, this is why you must take the throne. Westeros must be united before the winter season arrives. Put aside the ranger of the night's watch you are now. It is time for you to become who you were born to be."

"...I understand" Jon said. "But how am I going to do so? I grew up a bastard. I know nothing about ruling. Even if I did, how would I seize the throne? There are too many people who would resist me, and I don't have an army."

"You can start with the free folk. Help their leader Mance Rayder get his people south of the wall, and they would be willing to help you."

"Are you sure?"

"The children and I have watched them for many years, and they are not so different from your mother's people. You are all descendants of the first men, and you all follow the children's gods. They will follow if you give them hope."

"It isn't that simple" Jon said. "The night's watch has fought them for thousands of years. They guard the wall that's blocking them from going south. How do you suggest we get them to agree to let them through? And lets say we do get the free folk south. How do we get the rest of westeros to unite with us? My brother would listen to me, and that gives us the north and the riverlands, but what of the rest of the kingdoms?"

The three eyed raven smiled. "It's time to show you the real reason I summoned you to me."

"You mean there's more?!"

"Oh yes Jon. I could just reach out to you mentally and tell you all you have learned if there wasn't a true reason for you to come this far. Follow me, and you will see what that is."

They walked through the maze of tunnels in the children's cave for so long that Jon suspected they were halfway through the mountain. Finally, they came to a massive chamber. "Here it is Jon."

Jon stared in awe at the sight before him: an enormous dragon, laying out on the floor of the chamber. It was so huge that Jon was amazed that such a creature could fit inside. It must have a three hundred foot wingspan and a tail almost twice as long as the rest of its body. Its eyes were closed, and were it not for the fact that the creature wasn't breathing Jon would think it was merely sleeping.

"A dragon."

"Not just any dragon" the three eyed raven said. "An ice dragon."

"An ICE Dragon?! I thought they were only a story."

"Until a week ago, didn't you think the same about the children of the forest and the white walkers? This ice dragon is the last of its kind, Jon. The rest of them died out before the coming of the Long Night. This one only still lives due to the trance it placed itself in."

"Why would it place itself in a trance?"

"Dragons are not ordinary creatures Jon" Leaf said as she too entered the chamber. "Their intelligence outstrips any animal, and this allows them to think and plan the way we do. It's possible this one felt it needed to outlive the rest of its kind and came here to ensure it could."

"Indeed" the greenseer said. "But now the time has come for it to wake. Jon, you must be the one to do so."

Jon's awe quickly fled, and was replaced with apprehension. "ME?! But why? How?"

"Ice dragons may be different from the kind your valyrian ancestors bonded with, but they are similar enough that this one will respond to you if you reach out to it."

"If it doesn't, or if it does awake but eats us the moment it see us?"

"It will respond to you Jon, and you have nothing to fear of this dragon. You must trust me when I say this."

Jon returned his gaze to the enormous reptile that lay before them. Of all the crazy stunts he'd pulled in his life, waking a dragon from a trance was without a doubt the most insane. At the same time, it would be a great asset if the dragon did connect with him. "Well, this would make the job easier. And the white walkers probably wouldn't stand a chance..."

"No Jon" Leaf interrupted. "As strong as this dragon may be, you mustn't let him get near the white walkers."

Jon spun around to face the child. "What?!"

"The white walkers are strengthened by winter, and just as valyrian dragons are living embodiments of fire ice dragons are the embodiments of a blizzard. Their power would do nothing but strengthen the walkers, especially if they manage to kill and reanimate him."

The idea of the white walkers reanimating a dragon was so terrifying Jon didn't want to think about it. They wouldn't need to wait for winter if they brought this creature under their thrall. But he could still help them. With a dragon at his side the majority of westeros wouldn't doubt the truth of his identity as Rhaegar's son, and he knew there were still many people who were Targaryen loyalists. They would flock to his banner if he called. Jon suddenly remembered Ser Allister Thorne back at the wall, and the way he'd abused him because he thought he was Eddard Stark's bastard. Oh, he was going to enjoy seeing that jerk's face when the truth was known.

"Ok, I understand" Jon finally understand. "I awaken the dragon, find the free folk and get the night's watch to let them south."

"You won't have to do this alone Jon" Leaf said. "We're coming with you and your direwolf."

"You are?"

"Yes" the three eyed raven said. "We know where to find the free folk, so you won't have to fly around searching for them. We will also be able to reach your brother Bran and his companions rather than making them come to us."

Jon spun around, nearly having a stroke at what he heard. "WHAT?! What does Bran have to do with any of this?!"

"Your brother is a greenseer like me and the children. I need to teach him so the art isn't lost when we die."

"When were you planning on telling me you intended to approach my brother?!"

"We already have approached him mentally. As for telling you, we were planning on doing so when it became necessary, which it just did."

Half an hour later the children, Ghost, Jon and the three eyed raven were gathered in the dragon's chamber. Jon stood before the group, just feet away from the creature. "You're sure this will work" he asked.

"Yes Jon" the three eyed raven replied. "Do as I instructed, and the dragon will awaken."

Jon took in a large breath, and finally stepped forward to place his hand on the dragon's snout. Reaching out with his warging the way he did with Ghost, he touched the mind of the creature. Jon could tell the children were right about the creature's intelligence: the dragon's mind was more complex than his direwolf's. _Awake_.

For a moment, nothing happened. Than Jon felt the dragon's response, and heard it start to breathe again. It stirred, opening its eyes to show crystal blue looking back at them. The dragon lifted his head, and stared at Jon as if to say what it wanted. Jon once more reached out with his warging, and hoped his valyrian blood was noticeable to the creature. _I ask for your aid. Please, come with me._

The dragon continued to stare, but finally lowered his head to the ground. Jon knew what this meant. _Climb on._

They all climbed on the dragon's neck, Ghost needing to be carried up by the children, and walked to the back so as to find a more secure place to sit. Jon couldn't describe the feeling that was coursing through him. Excitement was too small a term. Suddenly, Jon remembered something. "Uh, how are we supposed to get out of here?"

As if to answer his question, the dragon raised his head and took a massive breath. When he released it, a wave of sheer cold blew through the chamber as his dragonfire began to cause the wall to crumble from the sheer force. When he stopped, there was a new tunnel large enough for him to walk through. He walked forward until he came to the end, and once more released his dragonfire. This continued until finally Jon saw the tunnel wall explode in a ray of sunlight, revealing the outside world.

Jon was so amazed he almost missed when the dragon jumped from the tunnel. After a short moment of falling, the dragon spread his enormous wings and took flight. Jon looked down to see the ground becoming smaller by the second as his new friend rose higher and higher in the air. Looking forward, Jon felt a great thrill wash through him.

The idea of becoming king suddenly seemed like it would be no problem at all.

 **So this is how Jon managed to acquire an ice dragon. Also, anyone familiar with the last airbender series will notice the little homage I made here with the season granting strength to the white walkers. It was also a reason the children reached out to Jon for his aid. I also added a homage from Lord of the Rings and Star Trek: Into Darkness as well.**

 **For those wondering, I feel that the children showed Jon visions of Daenerys and her campaign to eradicate slavery in essos. I just couldn't figure out a way to fit that in to the chapter. This is meant to explain why Jon and the three eyed raven talked about her candidacy for being the prince who was promised.**

 **Last note, I realized that the way this story is going would require a slight rewrite in the first chapter. Be sure to look at Jon's letter to the lannisters.**

 **So, next chapter Jon reflects on how he learned about the red wedding, how he responded and how the north proclaimed him the new king. Look out boltons, winter is coming for you.**


	4. Chapter 4

**To the one who commented on Blizzard's name, I was actually planning on making him a female dragon and naming her Kisara (when I picture Blizzard, I think of a Blue Eyes White Dragon that attacks with freezing dragonfire.) But I felt this was a bit too much of a yugioh reference.**

Jon awoke from slumber to find Ghost's snout only a few inches from his face. Startled, Jon jumped up to see his direwolf was sitting next to his bed with his head resting on Jon's pillow. "What were you doing, boy?" Ghost stood up and licked Jon's face, then walked to the door and sat back down. It seemed like he was telling Jon he wanted to go out, or maybe that it was time for him to get out of bed. Either way, Jon knew he needed to get up. He was overseeing the reconstruction of Winterfell after all, and who knew what problems between the newly settled free folk and northerners would emerge.

"It's strange" Jon thought to himself as he dressed for the day "how often people don't seem to realize how much responsibility and burden falls on a king or queen." Whether it was the smallfolk or nobility, people tend to only see that monarchs are the ones who wield the power while everyone else serves them. But that wasn't the case. The monarch's place in society was as much one of servitude as a farmer or guard. After all, it was their job to protect the kingdom's people, whether that was from external or internal threats. Jon remembered being told this once as his father/uncle talked to all his children about the structure of westeros's society. But he didn't truly appreciate it until he was declared king.

A knock on the door occurred just before Jon reached it, and when he opened it he saw one of his personal guards standing there. Jon smiled as he saw probably the only woman in history to serve as a member of a kingsguard standing before him. Slim but also muscular, her body was the result of living the harsh life of a nomad beyond the wall. Her flaming red hair flowed down to her shoulders. "Good morning Ygritte."

"Good morning your kneelership" she responded. Jon snorted at one of the nicknames she used when it was just the two of them. As a free folk, Ygritte was still getting used to the way of life of one who lived under a king. However she always showed respect when they were in public. "It seems you slept better after our little... encounter last night."

"Well, it does help calm one down when a beautiful woman kisses you." Ygritte had found Jon on the steps of Winterfell's keep the previous night as he was brooding about his time with the children and the old greenseer. After talking for some time, Ygritte promptly kissed him as a way to get his mind off the harsh memories he'd been shown of his past. Although taken aback at first, Jon had quickly responded and soon forgot all about his stressful nightmare. Ygritte had been disappointed when Jon refused to bring her back to his bed after that, but she also understood: Jon was a king and she was his guard. No matter how attracted they were to each other, a relationship between them probably wouldn't be in their best interests. After all, Jon would one day need to marry and Ygritte knew she wouldn't make a good queen, no matter how much of a good wife she could be.

Jon, Ygritte and Ghost walked together to the main hall to find that breakfast was already prepared, and that Bran and Rickon, whom Jon had recovered upon coming south, were already waiting for them. Jon had felt so much relief when he found Bran at the wall and Rickon being sheltered by the Umbers. His family had lost too much already. "Well, I hope you both slept better than I did last night" Jon said to his brothers. Ygritte lightly swatted him on the back.

"I slept alright" Rickon said. "It feels great being back home."

Jon sat down at the head of the table while Ygritte took Ghost outside to the other direwolves. Like the Stark brothers, the direwolves Summer, Shaggydog and Ghost had been overjoyed to be reunited. As they broke their fast, Jon asked Bran how his training with the three eyed raven was going. "It's going alright" his little brother responded. "It feels incredible to be able to relive anything that happened in history, but also really strange." "I understand the feeling" Jon replied. "I felt similar when I was being shown all those visions of my past, not to mention the ones of my aunt's campaign in slaver's bay."

"I wish I could be doing what you're doing Bran" Rickon slightly pouted.

"Maybe not" Bran responded. "Sometimes I feel like I'm becoming so overwhelmed by this that I'm forgetting how to act like a normal person. A few days ago, I didn't really respond to Meera when she said her father was taking her back home. She had to shout at me to really get my attention."

"Do I need to talk to the children about this" Jon asked.

"I don't think so. The three eyed raven said it'll be easier to handle the more I get used to greenseeing."

"Well, that's good. And Rickon, you may not be able to see into the past like Bran, but you still are able to warg into Shaggydog and other animals like we can."

Jon's words seemed to cheer his youngest sibling up.

Sometime later, Jon made his way down to the crypts to visit Eddard Stark's tomb. He noticed the statue didn't properly resemble his father, but apparently tomb markers rarely did resemble the people they were sculpted to look like. Jon just stared sadly at the tomb of the man who raised him. "I wish I could tell you how much you mean to me now. I didn't know all the risks and sacrifices you made just to keep me safe. I promise, no matter what comes, I will always honor the lessons you taught me, no matter what my being king may require of me."

Jon noticed that Robb didn't have a tomb here. He shouldn't be surprised; the boltons and freys had desecrated his brother's body after they betrayed him. Once more, Jon felt his anger rising as he recalled what happened.

 **Almost two months ago**

Jon stormed across the courtyard of Castle Black. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this enraged, if he had ever been before. The last half a year had been going so incredible. He and the children had found the free folk and managed to convince Mance Rayder and his army to try to emigrate peacefully. They then flew with Rayder and several free folk chieftains to the wall to meet with the night's watch. Needless to say Jon's return with an ice dragon and free folk had caused quite a panic among his order's brothers. Lord Commander Mormont had been somewhat cold towards Jon when he first returned, as were a number of the older members of the order. But all went into complete shock when Jon and the children explained the truth about who he really was.

Ser Thorne's reaction did not disappoint. After finally regaining the ability to speak, he tried to beg Jon for his forgiveness for his previous attitude towards him. Jon had responded by saying Thorne would need to earn his forgiveness, as well as his respect. Sam (whom had taken in one of Craster's daughters and her child) was quite shocked as well to learn that his best friend was actually the true heir of the continent's throne. Maester Aemon was overjoyed to find that he had another relative aside from Daenarys. After the order finally came to terms with who Jon was, they sat down with him and his new allies to discuss recent events. After much negotiation, Lord Commander Mormont agreed that with the coming attack of the white walkers, the enmity between their two parties had to be set aside. The night's watch would allow the free folk to come south and settle in the gift. Jon, who was promptly discharged from the order to pursue the iron throne, would meet with Robb to talk about settling them across the north.

Or at least, that had been the plan until Gerrad Tuttle arrived from Ironrath and told the entirety of Castle Black's residents of the red wedding.

At first, Jon couldn't believe the news he was told. His brother was dead, betrayed at a _wedding_ and his body desecrated by those who betrayed him. Now the boltons, house Stark's ancient enemies, were in control of the north as the vassals of house lannister. He would never see his brother again.

"Tywin" Jon had bitterly whispered when he got over his initial shock. He was the cause of so much of his family's suffering. He ordered the death of Rhaegar's children as well as the rape and murder of their mother. His inbred grandson (not that he knew the truth of his own children's relationship) had needlessly murdered his father. And now this: an act of sacrilege to kill Robb. Jon's anger reached such a height that he felt like he'd explode. "You will suffer for this. You will suffer for all the crimes you committed."

Throwing open the door to one of the guest chambers, Jon entered to find Leaf sitting with some of her kind. "Jon, I'm so sorry about your brother and his family."

"I need your help Leaf" Jon said.

"With what?"

"Can your greenseeing be used to find certain people?"

"Yes, but who are you looking for?"

"Roose Bolton and his son Ramsay Snow."

"Jon, what are..."

"Leaf, I need to know where they are."

Leaf's eyes went milky white as she unlocked her powers. After about a minute, they finally returned to normal. "Roose is en route to Winterfell, Ramsay is heading to Ironrath along with an entourage of people from his house's vassal House Whitehill."

"Thank you Leaf."

"Jon, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to send a message."

 **Ironrath**

"Lord Whitehill will install a garrison of... 20 men within your walls" Ramsay said.

"In Ironrath..." Lady Forrester said. But before she could continue, a series of bells started ringing.

"What is that" Lord Whitehill asked. "That's the garrison's warning. Something is approaching" Ethan Forrester, the young lord of Ironrath, answered. "Sounds more like the guards are panicking" Ramsay said. "Well, I guess we should all go see what the commotion is about before we conclude our business here."

Ramsay, the Whitehill entourage, the Forresters and their allies exited Ironrath's main hall to see a courtyard in absolute panic. People were fleeing into their homes, guards were abandoning their posts. What was going on? The answer came in the form of a massive roar from above. A huge bluish white dragon was descending from the sky to land just outside Ironrath's walls. Once it had, the creature placed its front feet on top of the guard gate and lowered its head into the courtyard, allowing a single rider to dismount.

"Who is that" Lady Forrester wondered out loud as she backed her children behind her. The man who dismounted looked like a younger Eddard Stark. He approached the group with a furious look on his face, and stopped a few feet away from Ramsay and Lord Whitehill.

"Well, well, well" the rider said. "Ramsay Snow."

Ramsay, who had looked terrified at the sight of the dragon, regained some of his swagger at the stranger's addressing him. "That's Ramsay BOLTON."

"Oh, so your father had you legitimized. Well, it doesn't matter."

"Who are you" Ramsay demanded. "Well, I have another name, but you and your companions would know me as Jon Snow."

"Ah, the bastard of Winterfell" Ramsay said. Jon merely laughed at Ramsay's pathetic attempt to discourage him. "Well, that is who I was known as for most of my life. But it really doesn't matter. I came from Castle Black looking for you Ramsay."

"And what is it you want from the new warden of the north's son, bastard" Lord Whitehill inquired. Jon turned and noticed the sigil of house Whitehill on the fat man's armor. "Lord Whitehill" he growled. The head of the Whitehill family lost what little courage he had regained after hearing the tone in Jon's voice. "You were at the twins during the red wedding. You and your forces took part in the butchering of my brother and his army."

The entire assembled crowd held their breath, the Whitehills looking more terrified than ever. Now they knew what was going on.

"Well, I didn't expect you to be here with Ramsay, but this works out. Thank you for saving me the hassle of hunting you down as well. Blizzard!"

The dragon rose its head as Jon called out to him. Lord Whitehill took a step back as he stared at the creature before them all. "Enjoy." At Jon's words, the dragon surged forward, his mouth open wide as he neared Lord Whitehill. The fat lord screamed in horror as Blizzard's jaws closed around him, blood spraying over his bannermen and Ramsay. Blizzard raised his head once more and, in one gulp, swallowed the fat lord whole.

"Now, as for you Ramsay" Jon said as he drew his sword longclaw. Ramsay stumbled back, noticing the Whitehill soldiers had scattered in between Ironrath's houses. "Wait, wait. I wasn't at the red wedding. That was my father and his bannermen. It had nothing to do with me."

"I know. But I also know you were the one who torched Winterfell after you 'liberated' it from the Ironborn occupation. I also know about how sadistic a person you are. If anyone in this castle deserves to suffer, its you."

Jon raised his sword. "Please" Ramsay pleaded frantically. "Winterfell was a joke, just a joke."

"I'm not laughing" Jon said as he swung his sword down.

"NOOO!" Ramsay's cry ended as longclaw sliced into his chest.

 **Just outside Winterfell**

After dealing with Ramsay and Lord Whitehill at Ironrath, Jon flew Blizzard to his home, planning on catching Roose Bolton next. The constant flying they did while looking for the free folk combined with Jon's warging and vaylarian blood meant Blizzard was now as devoted to him as Ghost was. This would certainly come in handy later when he took the fight further south.

Through Blizzard's eyes, Jon saw the bolton soldiers turn their heads towards them as they descended. His enemies looked terrified. Now was the time. "Dracarys!" Dragonfire exploded from Blizzard's mouth, engulfing the majority of the bolton soldiers. The few who weren't in the way tried to flee, but were cut off as Blizzard slammed his tail down in front of them. Jon dismounted Blizzard after landing and approached the terrified group. "Roose Bolton?" The rest of the group pointed to a man who went pale white at the mention of his own name. Jon stepped closer to him.

"My name is Jon Snow. I think you'd know me as the bastard of House Stark." Like his son, Roose Bolton stumbled backwards as he realized what was happening. Jon drew longclaw. "This is for my brother" he said and stabbed Roose clean through the chest, the same as he had done to Robb at the twins. "The Starks send their regards." Roose Bolton, the betrayer of the north, fell dead at Jon's feet.

 **Winterfell, weeks later**

Jon was standing before a crowd of northern lords in Winterfell's main hall. It felt so surreal to be at the head table where his uncle used to address the north. At his side were Bran and Rickon. The children of the forest stood off to the side, wrapped in cloaks that completely concealed their features. He decided to call the leaders of the north together to discuss the future of the north. He recognized the Forresters along with their cousin Gared Tuttle, the members of House Umber (whom he had already had to deal with earlier when they sent an emissary to Castle Black inquiring about the free folk who were currently settling in the Gift. He also saw Alys Karstark, whom had risen to the head of her house once Jon arrested her father for his desertion of Robb.

"My lords and ladies" Jon addressed the crowd, drawing their attention to him. "I thank you all for coming. There is much we need to discuss."

"Agreed" called Lord Glover. "First of all, why are you acting like the lord in charge? The position falls to your brother Bran."

"Jon is the new lord of Winterfell" Bran answered for Jon. "Rickon and I are not ready to rule."

"Thank you Bran" Jon said. He than turned his attention to the crowd once more. "As all of you are aware, I have destroyed House Bolton and ended their rule of the North. I want all of you to know House Stark will remain the lords of Winterfell. Now, the first issue I wish to discuss is the free folk."

"Why are they here" shouted Lord Umber. "You can't expect us to just accept Wildling invaders in our lands!"

"We didn't invade" replied Tormund Giantsbane, one of Mance Rayder's chieftains. "We were allowed to cross the wall in peace."

"Not by me, you weren't" Lord Umber's eldest son said. "I won't accept you monsters on my home's doorstep without a fight."

"There will not be any fighting" Jon called out. "The night's watch and I allowed them safe passage through and unless they provoke a retaliation the free folk will remain in their settled lands."

"For one who liberated us from tyranny, you speak with great treason in your words" said Lord Manderly.

"Hold your tounge" little Rickon shouted out. "Say something like that about my brother again and I'll have Shaggydog rip your throat out!"

Rickon's outburst shocked Lord Manderly and any other lord who was about to agree with him. After a few moments of silence, Jon continued.

"I know there is bad history between our two peoples, but we need to put it aside. We are all of the first men. The time has come for us to come together as one people once more. There is too much at stake for us to fight amongst each other."

"Lord Snow" a northern lord whom Jon didn't recognize spoke up. "I know your sister remains a prisoner of the Lanninsters, but I'm afraid there is no chance to rescue her. To go to war again would be folly when we only just suffered the atrocity that was the red wedding."

"I'm fully aware Sansa remains in King's Landing. I will rescue her, and we need to deal with the Lannisters as soon as we can. We might have lost many of our people at the Twins, but we do have one advantage. My dragon can destroy all of Tywin's remaining forces on its own."

"My lord" Lord Ethan Forrester interrupted. "With all due respect, now is not the time to be going south again. Winter season will come in a few years at the most. We should focus more on preparing for the coming storms than restarting a war."

"This war needs to be settled as soon as we can, my young friend" Jon said. "If we don't, it will only distract us from the true threat. Winter is coming, and I promise you all this, the monsters that are waiting for it won't hide from the storms. They ARE the storms."

Silence returned to the hall as the crowd processed Jon's words through their minds. Finally, Lord Umber spoke up. "What possible threat could you mean?"

"I'm sure all of you are familiar with the stories of the Long Night? Well, I tell you all now that those are not just stories. The Long Night truly occurred, and the White Walkers, the monsters who terrorized Westeros so long ago, will return when winter arrives. This is why I allowed the free folk into our lands. We must unite against these monsters, or we will all be destroyed in the storms."

"Did your time north of the wall freeze your brain" called out another lord Jon didn't know by name yet. "What could possibly lead you to think those fairy tales were real?"

"We told him" Leaf called out. The entire crowd turned to her and her hooded companions. As one, the children lowered the hoods and discarded their cloaks. Gasps and cries of shock were heard from all the assembled lords and ladies.

"I know you all know who we are. There is not a single one of you who does not know the stories of our people. We sought out Jon along with our friend" Leaf said as she gestured towards the elderly three eyed raven. "The White Walkers are real. We reached out to Jon so we could ensure your kind could have hope. He is one of the only chances Westeros has to endure the return of the Long Night."

"How" Lord Manderly said after yet another stunned silence. "I mean no disrespect Lord Snow, but what hope can a mere bastard be for us?"

"This young man is no bastard" Ser Thorne shouted as he leapt to his feet from beside his fellow representatives from the night's watch. "He is the son of Lyanna Stark! It is to him that we all owe allegiance!"

"Please sit down, Ser Thorne" Jon said. He than addressed the crowd. "What Ser Thorne says is true. I am indeed the son of Lyanna Stark. If you need proof, I suggest you ask Lord Howland Reed."

The named lord rose to his feet as the entirety of the hall's occupants turned towards him. "How...how did..." Lord Reed stammered in shock for a moment. Than he cast a quick glance between Jon and Leaf and seemed to answer his own question. "I... my lords and ladies, Jon speaks the truth. I know many of you fought in the rebellion againt the mad king, and how we all thought Lyanna Stark was kidnapped by Rhaegar Targaryen. I tell you all, that was not true. When Lord Stark found his sister in the tower of Joy, she confessed all to him. She ran away from Robert Baratheon to marry Rhaegar. She was Elia Martell's co-wife, and the boy who stands there is indeed her son. He is Jaehaerys Targaryen, the rightful king."

Silence once more came upon the crowd. The reality of what caused the rebellion that so many fought and died in was settling in, and it brought quite a few of them to tears to know that so many friends died for nothing. Jon waited a few minutes until he spoke again.

"I understand this is a lot to take in. I was hiding in a corner of the children's cave for a week when I found out all this. But we need to move on. Yes, I am heir to the iron throne. Yes, I intend to reclaim it. This is not for me, it is for all of you. The only hope Westeros has is to stand united against the White Walkers. We must put aside old enmities with the free folk. I assure you all, I will fight to protect you all. I wall also fight to avenge our fallen. Robb Stark was my brother, and while I may not have met her, his wife was my sister and your queen. I will not let Tywin and his lackeys get away with what they did to the North, or my siblings."

"Why...why should we support this" a lord asked weakly, sounding like he was trying to convince himself. "Why should we put a known Targaryen on the throne of the North?"

A small, lone figure stood on their seat at this lord's statement. It was a young girl, no more than six or seven. "I will tell you why" she said. "I am Lyanna Mormont of Bear Island. I tell you all, my house has stood at the Stark family's side for centuries. The fact that he is a Stark through his mother means nothing. He is of the North, of the Starks. He is my king, whether he rule from Winterfell or King's Landing, whether he is known as Jon Snow or Jaehaerys Targaryen."

"I agree" Lord Manderly said as he stood. "I fought in the rebellion. I recall Lyanna Stark and looking back I can't see how we didn't realize that she would not allow one to kidnap her. All the friends who died in that war died for nothing. But Lady Mormont speaks the truth. Lyanna Stark's son defeated the traitors of the North. I didn't think we could find a new king in my lifetime, but I was wrong. Jaehaerys Targaryen is my king, the king in the North, the king of Westeros." As he finished, he drew his sword and knelt.

Lord Glover stood next. "I agree. I didn't agree with the Young Wolf's decision to marry who he did, but she did not deserve the red wedding. None of our people did. My house has stood behind House Stark for a thousand years, and it will continue to do so as long as I live. The fact that House Targaryen is part of House Stark now makes no difference to me any longer. I will stand by Jaehaerys Targaryen, the son of Lyanna Stark." He too drew his sword. "The King of Westeros!"

"Long live the king" Lady Mormont shouted. Soon, she was followed by all present.

"Long live the king!"

 **Present day**

Jon exited the crypts to see the Maester approaching him. "Your grace" he said. "A message just arrived from White Harbor." White Harbor, that was Lord Manderly's home. Jon took the scroll and read the contents. _Your grace, we have received a a ship from King's Landing. Two people were aboard who wish to speak with you. One of them is your sister, Sansa. Lord Manderly._

Jon felt a wave of jubilation wash over him. Sansa was back in the north. She was away from the lannisters. "Maester, I need you to find Ygritte and two other members of the kingsguard. Tell them to gather outside the gates." "At once, your grace."

Jon went towards the gates, reaching out to Blizzard.

A few days later, Blizzard landed outside the walls of White Harbor. Jon, Ygritte and the other members of the kingsguard dismounted and Jon practically ran through the city towards the main hall. Upon arriving, Jon was greeted by Lord Manderly. "Your grace, your sister and her companion are here. They await inside. But I should warn you, her companion is someone we might want to hold in a dungeon."

Jon entered the hall and saw Sansa sitting at one of the tables. Upon seeing her brother, Sansa immediately jumped up and ran towards him. The two siblings embraced, Jon lifting her off her feet while Sansa kissed him on the cheek. They stayed like this for a few minutes before Jon let her down. "Sansa, I'm so glad you're alright." "I'm fine" his sister replied. "I can hardly believe it's really you."

"I need to be honest, I'm surprised you're here. I assumed I would need to storm King's Landing to get you back."

"That's one of the reasons I'm here" an oddly familiar voice called out. Jon turned to see a short man with blonde hair getting out of the chair right next to the one that Sansa had been occupying. Jon recognized him immediately. "Tyrion! What are you doing here?"

"I've come to bring Sansa home, and to hopefully dissuade you from taking your anger over Robb Stark's death out on the innocent people of King's Landing."

* * *

Half a world away, in the newly conquered city of Meereen, Daenerys Targaryen was in shock as she read a letter that her aid Missandei brought to her. Ser Barristan Selmy had recognized the sigil on the letter as matching the symbol of the night's watch in westeros. It confused all who were present, until Daenerys read the letter out loud.

 _My dear niece,_

 _I do not know if I will still be alive by the time you read this, but I hope my age doesn't finish me off before we get a chance to meet. My name is Aemon Targaryen. I have been a maester at castle black for many years, and now I am one of the few members of our family left. I have heard many great things about you in the last few years. Your campaign to eradicate slavery is a truly noble quest._

 _But I also know that one day you intend to reclaim the iron throne. I wish to tell you that there is already someone who is more entitled to it than you. One of our recruits has been revealed to be your own nephew, the son of Rhaegar and his second wife Lyanna Stark. His name is Jaeharys, though he prefers to be called Jon as it is the name he has been called for most of his life. He has been released from the night's watch in order to pursue his birthright, and he is already making great progress. At the time I am having this letter written (I am blind and therefore can't write myself), he has already been declared the king in the north for avenging a heinous act of betrayal against the previous ruler, and is preparing to depose the head of the riverlands. With his ice dragon and army of 100,000 free folk, combined with the newly invigorated forces of the north, I have little doubt that he will succeed._

 _I do not want you to be discouraged by this news Daenerys. While your nephew does hold the stronger claim, you may still sit on the throne. Jon is currently enraged at the betrayal of his family and intends to bring the ones who did so to justice. But he doesn't seem to enjoy the idea of sitting on the throne. He may ask you to take the throne when you arrive in westeros, or you could marry and be joint rulers. But I also say that there is another reason for you to come home. There is an enemy that threatens the entire continent, and they are marshalling to attack. We can't face them without more aid. I implore you to bring your armies and dragons to westeros as soon as you can. Seek out Jon and he will explain what is going on._

 _I hope that we will meet._

 _Your ancestor, Aemon Targaryen._

 **Yes, Jon is currently in a somewhat on and off relationship with Ygritte right now. But my endgame plan is for him to be with Daenerys.**

 **Next chapter is the one you have been waiting for: the reaction of the lannisters to Jon's challenging ultimatum.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, here is the chapter that has been so anticipated. I hope I did this right. I wish I could have done part of it from Tywin's point of view, but I was finding that too challenging.**

 **First part is about Oberyn while the rest is about the Lannisters.**

Oberyn Martell couldn't remember the last time he felt so bipolar. He never would have guessed that one letter could infuriate him so much while also giving him the most entertainment he'd had in years.

King's Landing had been the source of so much angst for his family. When Elia married Rhaegar Targaryen, Oberyn had been upset that his sister would need to leave home. Years of her living in the same city as the mad king made him constantly worry for her safety. But she managed to handle herself well. She had loved Rhaegar, bore him two wonderful children, and been a model future queen. But Robert's Rebellion had broken out after Rhaegar left Elia for that northern direwolf, and Elia was once more in danger. Ayers kept her in the capital as a hostage to ensure Dorne would stay loyal to him. It was a needless happening, as Dorne would support any side Elia chose. After Rhaegar was slain by Robert Baratheon, Tywin Lannister sacked the city as a way to suck up to the rebel leader. And it was during that atrocity that Elia and her children had been murdered by Tywin.

Well, Tywin hadn't actually done the deed himself, that was his pet monster Gregor Clegane, who had also raped Elia after killing Rhaenys and Aegon before killing her too. But Tywin had ordered it all, to ensure Rhaegar's line was wiped out and to strike against Elia for being chosen as Rhaegar's wife instead of his own daughter Cersei. When he and Doran found out, they were enraged. Both wanted revenge for what happened to their sister and her children. Doran had been planning for years, working on a way to rob Tywin of everything that mattered to him before finally killing him. At the same time, he publically kept a facade of pacifism up to fool the entire realm into thinking he would do nothing. No, Oberyn was the one who was the realm felt was the warmonger. While they focused on him, the red viper, Doran acted like the grass that hid him, only to be just as deadly in reality.

The plan was simple, yet it was also brilliant. Doran and he had contacted the last two Targaryens, Daenerys and her older brother Viseryes, and arranged a secret alliance. Viseryes was betrothed to Doran's daughter Arianne, and when the Targaryens had rebuilt their military Doran would declare for them when they returned to Westeros. The combined military might they would wield would sweep north from Dorne and decimate Tywin and Robert's forces, and restore the Targaryens to the throne. Of course, Viseryes had been killed by his sister's husband for threatening her, but that was a minor setback as far as Oberyn was concerned. Daenerys had shown that she was a much stronger figure, and a marriage between her and one of Doran's sons would work just as well. So Oberyn had come to King's Landing intending to get personal revenge on Clegane specifically while Doran focused on the long term scheme.

Or at least, that had been the plan, until the northern ultimatum had been delivered to the Lannisters. Normally, a situation like this would amuse Oberyn to no end. But the person who had issued it had stirred much resentment in him: Jaehaerys Targaryen, the son of Rhaegar and LYANNA STARK!

Rhaegar leaving Elia for Lyanna Stark had angered Oberyn greatly. His sister loved him, bore the man's children, and he humiliated and dishonored her by stealing away someone else! The 'honorable' Rhaegar had left his wife for someone else. And it didn't stop there, for his dumping Elia had started a war that say Elia's death and the death of her kids. Now, many years later, Lyanna's son shows up and pushes his claim for what should have been his nephew's. Oberyn also knew this wasn't a trick of some kind either, because Tyrion Lannister had figured it all out shortly after the letter had been read to the entire court.

A smile crossed Oberyn's face as he remembered the fallout of that letter's reading, and the headache it caused the Lannisters. After stunned silence that lasted about a minute, absolute pandemonium had broken out. Courtiers and guests alike started screaming , some in fear while others were trying to get answers with raised voices. Smallfolk who had been brought in to wait in the guests had tried to flee the room, only to be stopped by the guards on Tywin's orders. Ah, Tywin; the old politician had looked so terrified after reading the demand for his head. It filled Oberyn with great glee while the ramifications of the identity of the sender had filled him with an old anger.

Someone, Oberyn couldn't remember who, had pointed out this new king in the north had to be lying about his identity after the room's occupants had calmed down. But while some agreed with this, Tyrion, who had been silent since the letter had been read, fell to the floor laughing drawing the attention of all. After sobering up and coming to his feet again, Tyrion said the northern king wasn't lying. "There's only one person this can be" he said. "Jon Snow, the so called bastard of Eddard Stark." Olenna Tyrell had scoffed at this, saying Jon was just that: Eddard Stark's bastard. But then Tyrion explained the puzzle that literally no one in all of Westeros had noticed for more than twenty years: Eddard Stark had claimed his nephew as his own son to protect him.

It all made so much sense. The whole realm knew the story of the melee that occured when Lord Stark rode to the tower of joy to get his sister back. He and his companions had fought the last remaining members of the kingsguard. If Lyanna wasn't pregnant with a legitimate heir, they should have been on the island of Dragonstone with the queen and her children. Then Eddard Stark came north with his sister's body and a newborn boy. When he claimed the child was his own, it had been so scandalous: the honorable Eddard Stark had a bastard. How could no one have seen through that? Of course the child was his nephew. He had claimed him as his own to protect him from Robert Baratheon, his own best friend.

Lyanna Stark's son with Elia's husband. The thought still made Oberyn upset. But after a day of thinking about it, he remembered something about the letter: the boy had named Elia as his mother's _co-wife_. Jaehaerys, or Jon (whatever his name was), apparently was under the impression that Rhaegar had taken Lyanna as a wife while still keeping Elia. At first Oberyn had thought the boy to be trying to simply drum up legitimacy for his claim. But the more he thought about it, the more this caused doubt in his mind. No one had actually found out what really happened between Rhaegar and Lyanna. Was it possible that Elia had supported Rhaegar's relationship with the northern girl? Clearly someone was greatly misinformed. Whether it was the northern king or himself, Oberyn couldn't figure out. But regardless the boy was innocent of his parents' actions, so Oberyn had decided, despite his initial anger, that he shouldn't judge him for that. Also, he was trying to avenge Elia and his siblings deaths as well as the red wedding. There were many factors to consider, but perhaps he could be an ally to Dorne. Oberyn had written to Doran after considering this. His brother had to know about this Jaearyes Targaryen, as well as the problems he had caused for Tywin.

Oberyn started laughing as he rememered the rest of the fallout from the ultimatum. Tywin had told all present in the throne room that this was not to get out. Of course, there was no way that was going to happen. By sundown that day, it seemed like the entire city had heard about the massacre at the twins as well as this Targaryen's threat to do the same to the capital if his demands weren't met. There was only one way to describe the following reaction: absolute anarchy. People started rioting in the streets, burning barracks and symbols of the Lannisters while looting from the nobility. Some fled the city, fearing that the ice dragon would come to the city at any time. Tywin had spent an entire week trying to bring the city back under control for his grandson. At one point he went out of the red keep to lead the effort in person, only to be rushed back in when a mob of smallfolk had tried to assassinate him so they could sent his head north.

While all this was going on, Tywin's son appeared to be thoroughly enjoying himself. Tyrion seemed to have a near endless supply of insults for his father that he had been saying to him whenever they ran across each other. At first, they were simple: _"I told you the north was going to retaliate for the red wedding father. So how are we going to get out of this mess YOU got us all into?"_ But they got more insulting, and entertaining, as the week went on: _"Congratulations father, I now know where Joffrey got his vicious idiocy from." "So dear papa, got any more bright ideas? Maybe we should blow up the great sept of Baelor and get the gods pissed off at us."_ Tywin wasn't the only one who was getting stressed by all this. Joffrey had thrown a massive temper tantrum at the news of the additional challenger to his rule as well as the way his letter had insulted him. His mother had also looked enraged, though what she was taking so personally Oberyn couldn't tell. He guessed it was the insult to her son, or the demanding of her father's death.

"Oberyn." Oberyn was pulled out of his memories by his paramour Ellaria. "I think its almost time for the small council to meet."

"Ah, thank you my love" he replied. Tywin had finally called the council together to discuss the new threat. Oberyn simply couldn't miss this.

Tyrion entered the council chamber to see his sister and father seated next to one another at the end of the long table while the rest of the council occupied the other seats. Varys and Petyr Baelish were present, as was Oberyn Martell and the other members.

"Tyrion" Tywin said when he noticed his son standing next to him. "You are no longer a part of this council." The toll of the past week was starting to show on him. Tywin appeared like he hadn't been able to get to sleep for days, and the wounds the mob managed to inflict were still raw.

"True" Tyrion responded. "But this situation calls for someone of wisdom to lend a hand in dealing with, and since I'm clearly the smartest of your children, if not the smartest in the whole family, I figured I should do so." Cersei and Tywin both scowled at him, but Tywin appeared to let the matter go as he turned his attention to the council. "So, you all know what happened a week ago. How are we to respond to this? Lord Varys, have you been able to learn anything about this new king in the north?"

The man reached for a pocket in his robes and pulled out a list. "Well, my little birds were able to get some information to me in the last few days. But the news won't be particularly comforting to anyone present."

"Just spit it out" Cersei demanded.

"Alright. It seems that the assumption Lord Tyrion made about this Targaryen's identity was correct. My little birds were able to learn that he is indeed Jon Snow, the boy who Eddard Stark claimed was his bastard."

"A claim that is an obvious a falsehood" Cersei responded.

"My queen" Lord Baelish said. "I agree with Lord Tyrion on this. While I loath to admit that something of this nature eluded me for years, the fact is Eddard Stark was too honorable to father a bastard. Plus, the timing fits perfectly. This Jaehaerys Targaryen is legitimate."

"What else have the little birds you employ told you" Tywin asked the master of whispers. "Well" Varys began again, "he was apparently discharged from the night's watch by the lord commander himself. It was shortly after this that word of the red wedding reached castle black. The boy had been in the process of helping the wildlings migrate south when he heard."

"What would cause him and the rest of the night's watch to allow wildlings to come south" another member of the council asked.

"That my sources were unable to find out about. Apparently there is something else beyond the wall that was forcing the wildlings further south, and the night's watch decided to allow them through because of this threat. As for the boy, when he heard the truth of the red wedding, he is said to have gone completely berserk with anger. He is said to have mounted his dragon and flew south, only to return a few days later with the bodies of the bolton family members with him."

"Well he certainly didn't waste time in getting revenge" Jaime commented off to the side of the room.

"After this, he had messages sent to all the lords of the north to meet at Winterfell. Apparently he also managed to locate the other sons of Lord Stark in the time it took for this meeting to occur. Once the nobility was gathered at the northern capital, Jon Snow explained who he really was and that whatever threat was pushing the wildlings further south would soon be coming for them all. He stressed that the north needed to merge with the wildlings into a unified nation for their own good while also promising that the red wedding would be completely avenged. Once the discussion had died down, Lady Lyanna Mormont of Bear Island declared that she would gladly support him as the new king, and while some lords seemed doubtful about putting a Targaryen on the northern throne, they agreed due to his being Lyanna Stark's son. After being proclaimed king, Jon flew his dragon to the twins to carry out the massacre before returning north. He has since began the process of integrating the wildlings into the north as well as opening foreign relations with cities in Essos for more food."

"What about this apparent dragon that he is said to wield" Baelish asked.

"It certainly is up there. Some claim its about three times the size of the dragon Balerion."

"So how do we kill it" Tywin asked.

Tyrion scoffed. "Kill it? Are you going mad father? Nothing we have can stop a dragon, let along one of that size. Plus, you do remember Jon's demands, don't you?"

"Of course. What about them?"

"What about them? He threatened to DESTROY KING'S LANDING! There are approximately a million people in this city, and he's threatened to kill all of them if we don't give him what he wants."

"So what is it you suggest we do, oh wise dwarf?"

"It's obvious: surrender."

The entire council was silent following Tyrion's reply. Then Cersei rose from her seat and shouted at her brother. "SURRENDER?!"

"Yes" Tyrion replied. "You are all supposed to be the leaders of these kingdoms. You're supposed to be holding _their_ interests in the highest regards, not your own. It's clear that the boy isn't bluffing about slaughtering innocents after what happened at the twins. Do what is right for the people and ensure that this enemy doesn't butcher them."

"Give up being the royal family?!"

"And Sansa! I already arranged the annulment of our marriage! Jon wants her, so let the poor girl go home to her family!"

"And did you forget that one of the demands this would be usurper made was my head" Tywin irritably responded. Tyrion turned to the family patriarch with an unreadable look on his face. "Well, I didn't say this would be an easy choice to make."

Tywin suddenly got a look of extreme rage on his face. "If I didn't know better, Tyrion, I'd say you wanted me to die!"

"Well, you are the man who sired me. I wouldn't actually say I want you to die. But at the same time, you treated me like dirt my entire life, destroyed my marriage to Tysha, and all because I'm a dwarf. I may not want you to die, but I won't shed any tears when you do. Also, I can't piss on your grave if you aren't buried in it."

"Alright, get out" Cersei shouted.

"Oh right, let's all hear the wisdom of the second best woman of our generation."

The entire room went silent at Tyrion's response to his sister. Cersei looked so enraged that she was on the verge of a stroke. "I'm the single most beautiful woman of our time."

"Rhaegar Targaryen and your late husband would disagree" Tyrion said. "The prince you were so infatuated with growing up passed you over twice for other women, one of whom was Lyanna, the mother of the new king in the north. And if I can recall the story of your wedding night, didn't Robert call you Lyanna as he was bedding you?"

A bloodcurdling screech was heard as Cersei lunged across the table in an effort to wring her dwarf brother's neck. The bottom half of her body landed on the table, knocking a full pitcher of wine off and spilling the contents all over the floor. Tywin appeared to only reluctantly grab Cersei as she tried to reach her brother's throat. "Oh, now look at what you've done" Tyrion said. "You ruined such a good and refreshing wine."

"ENOUGH" Tywin shouted as he pulled his daughter off the table. The entire council had remained silent at the scene that was playing out before them. After a few minutes, Varys spoke up. "Ok, maybe it would be a good idea if we adjourn for a while to calm down."

"I agree" Tywin replied. "We will reconvene in half an hour. And Tyrion, you are forbidden from returning for this meeting. If you try, an armed escort will throw you out of the city."

Hours later, after the council meeting had ended, Tyrion found himself rushing through the red keep to his room from a meeting with the high septon. He had finalized the annulment of his and Sansa's marriage, and now he had the documents to show it. Now he had to get Sansa and flee. Tyrion learned that the council hadn't taken his advice and chose to defy Jon's ultimatum. They were planning to find a way to dispose of Jon now. Tyrion wasn't surprised. He figured Tywin was not going to comply with the demands. His father was not known to cave into things like that, especially when he had been so publically insulted. Though keeping Sansa in the city as a hostage was something Tyrion was shocked at. Jon had shown that he would storm the city if his demands weren't met.

Tyrion had tried for a week to try to reconcile the Jon Snow he had known with the Jaehaerys who had threatened to destroy an entire city full of innocent people. He remembered Jon as a brooding kid who seemed upset with his status in society, but he was still a good person like Lord Stark Robb. Of course, that was years before today, and a lot could happen in that time. But he'd been in shock when he realized Jon had destroyed an entire fortress, and was planning to do the same to king's landing. This was no different from what the mad king had planned when Tywin sacked the city.

Whatever was going on, Tyrion decided it was time for drastic action. He arrived at the quarters he occupied to find Sansa. "Tyrion what is going on" she asked. "Shae told me that you wanted me to pact my clothes." "Yes. I asked her to do that before sending her back home. We're leaving."

"What?"

"We're going north. I plan to return you to your brother in an effort to placate him, and hopefully talk to him to convince him not to commit what would be the worst massacre in history."

"Is this part of..."

"No, my father and nephew decided to keep you as a hostage. But I will not gamble the lives of this city's people against your brother's temper. We're sneaking down to a ship I arranged to head north."

"Are you sure this is a wise idea? What will happen if Jon doesn't listen to you? I know you were friends once before, but that was years ago."

"This is by far the dumbest stunt I will ever attempt in my life. If Jon truly turns on me, I'll have walked right into the wolf's den... or maybe a more fitting metaphor would be the dragon's nest. But regardless, I'll be in the worst trouble of my life. Far worse than that incident that occurred years ago."

"What incident?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, there is a boat waiting for us."

Less than an hour later, Tyrion and Sansa had managed to evade the patrols on duty and reach the boat that Bronn, Tyrion's mercenary friend, had managed to arrange for them. After thanking Bronn as well as paying him, Tyrion loaded their things on the boat and soon he and Sansa were on the seas as the boat sailed north. Tyrion had arranged for them to have separate quarters on the ship since they were no longer married, so he was surprised when Sansa came to his later that night.

"Tyrion, I want to say that your actions mean so much to me. You are one of the people who treated me well during my time imprisoned in the capital, and you are risking so much to get me home. Thank you."

"No problem" he responded.

"Now, what was this incident that you mentioned before?"

Tyrion laughed. "I once brought a jackass and a honeycomb into a brothel..."

 **I hope we hear how that story ends at some point. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.**

 **Next chapter will either be another Jon one, or a Daenerys one. Or maybe I'll combine them.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm finding scenes in Meereen to be difficult to write. Therefore, the section at the end is pretty short. But once Daenerys comes to Westeros she'll get longer scenes.**

 **Ok, so this chapter is mainly a quick explanation of Jon's plans. I figured it was time you all found out exactly what he's playing at. Also, I know its pretty short. I'm sorry about that.**

Jon strode through the halls of Winterfell towards the quarters the maester was keeping one of their patients. Things were certainly taking a turn for the better since he issued his ultimatum to the Lannisters. He had reclaimed the north from those treacherous boltons and punished the freys for the red wedding. He had reunited with most of the remaining Starks, and now he had received word that the remainine lone wolf, Arya, had been found. The day before, Winterfell had gotten a letter from Lysa Arryn, the Stark's aunt, in the Vale saying a man named Sandor Clegane had brought his youngest sister to her hoping for a reward. Of course, Lady Arryn had given him one for her niece's safe return and now Jon was making plans to retrieve her. However, he still had some issues to deal with before he took Blizzard to the Eyrie to get Arya. One of those issues was checking on the patient he was currently going to see.

Jon arrived at the door and knocked. He heard someone approach and turn the handle. The door opened to show the maester himself. "Ah, your grace."

"Greetings maester. I came to see if there was any new change in his condition."

"Well, we made some progress, but I'm afraid he is still quite broken after what happened to him. Would you like to see for yourself?"

"Yes please."

The maester stood aside and allowed Jon to enter, where he saw Theon Greyjoy lying on a bed in one corner of the room. The maester was right, Theon's condition was still a great deal away from normal. When Jon led some of the free folk and some loyalist northmen to Winterfell to officially reclaim it, Theon's presence had been a nasty surprise for multiple reasons. Jon had quickly gotten over his shock and charged the man who betrayed Robb, but stopped just short of actually hitting him when he saw Theon cower. That was nothing like him, neither was the way he kept babbling on about someone named 'reek.' After interrogating some of the captured bolton men, Jon learned that Theon had been captured by Ramsay when the sick bastard had supposedly liberated Winterfell from the ironborn that Theon led there. While Ramsay's prisoner, Theon had been tortured mercilessly by the bolton bastard. Ramsay had even gone so far as to completely castrate Theon as part of his cruel game.

Jon had been so overwhelmed with pity that he completely forgot his anger towards Lord Stark's former ward. He knew that Theon had betrayed Robb by choosing to attack the North at the command of his father Balon Greyjoy. But after seeing the torture that he'd gone through, Jon set aside his rage and ordered for the maester to care for Theon. After all he went through, Theon had suffered enough for his actions. Besides, if it weren't for some lingering affection for the Starks, Theon would've killed Bran and Rickon when he took Winterfell. Instead he let them go (yes he'd killed two kids in their place, but the torture he went through seemed to be punishment enough).

The remaining ironborn in the north had retreated when word of Blizzard's presence reached them. True, ironborn were said to not fear anything, but that was before they saw a giant winged reptile eclipsing the sun as it flew overhead. Jon's intelliegnce sources, as well as confirmation from Leaf and the other children of the forest, said that the ironborn who fled the north returned home with the stories of the dragon. Of course, Balon had been furious to hear his conquests had just been abandoned and tried to get his people to rally to attack again. What he got instead was extremely different: the ironborn had declared him unfit to be their king any longer and forcibly removed him from his throne. Balon was locked away in a cell while the rest of his kingdom's nobility discussed who to place on the throne of Pyke next. Jon figured he wouldn't be seeing them anytime soon, but as a precaution he'd ordered for more lookout points to be established along the western coast of his kingdom.

Jon looked down at Theon as his 'guest' opened his eyes to see him. "Theon?"

"Jon" Theon responded. "You know there is no Theon here. This one's name is Reek, rimes with freak."

"Theon, I didn't like you much as we were growing up, but this is too much for me to hold against you. I intend to help you get better. We all do."

"Why do you help Reek? Reek betrayed Robb, helped get him killed."

"Theon, I don't deny that your actions may have contributed to Robb's downfall, but you didn't kill him. That was the freys, boltons and lannisters. The boltons and freys are gone, and the lannisters will suffer for their actions."

Theon looked like he wanted to respond, but his eyes started to get a faraway look, and soon they closed as he passed out.

"Your grace" the maester said. "I suggest you let me handle him."

"You allow Bran and Rickon to visit, why not me?

"I don't allow them anymore time than I give to you. His condition is still fragile."

Jon glanced one last time at Theon's unconscious form before turning back to the door. "Please let me know if Theon makes any progress."

"I will sire" the maester responded before closing the door once Jon had left the room.

Jon headed back down the hallways until he arrived at one of the guest quarters. Once more knocking, Jon was greeted by Tyrion. "Ah, your here your grace" the dwarf said.

"That's right my friend. May I come in?"

"Of course."

Jon entered the room, and was surprised to see Tyrion wasn't alone. Sansa was sitting at a table, a cup of tea in her hand. "Sansa."

"Hello Jon. I came here a few minutes ago at Tyrion's request."

Jon turned back towards Tyrion. "Why did you summon her as well?"

Tyrion had a strange look on his face, like he wasn't sure exactly who he was speaking to. "I hope her presence will allow us to talk more smoothly."

"Smoothly? Tyrion, it's me Jon. You have nothing to be worried about."

"Actually" Sansa said, drawing both their attention. "To be perfectly honest Jon, I'm not sure there is."

Jon stared wide eyed at his sister. What did she mean? "Ok, what is going on" he asked as he sat down at the table with Sansa.

Tyrion was the one who began once he sat down as well, his hand reaching for a pitcher of wine. "Jon, I told you the other day when you came to White Harbor why I'm here. I realize you are angry about Robb's death. You have the right to be. But this... what you've done, what you're threatening to do, it's not... it's nothing short of pure evil."

Jon looked annoyed as he focused on his dwarf friend. "You talk to me about what is evil? Your family butchered my own. BOTH sides of it!"

"That is something else Jon. When that letter arrived at the red keep, I figured you had to be the one who sent it. The entire realm knew Ned Stark had raised seven children in his house: six of his own and one ward. When that letter claimed Lord Stark was the one who raised this 'Jaehaerys Targaryen' it took me a few minutes but I quickly saw it had to be you."

"What does this have to do with the war between myself and your father?"

"A lot actually. Jon, you're a Targaryen as well as a Stark. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of who made your father's side of your family so infamous."

"Of course I know, my grandfather the mad king."

"Exactly. Jon, there is a story that I need to tell you. It's about my brother Jaime. When he was still in the kingsguard of the Targaryens, he was stationed in King's Landing at the time my father sacked it..."

Jon was starting to get a little irritated. "I already know this" he interrupted. "Your brother betrayed the mad king and killed him while your father's pet monster slaughtered my brother and sister before raping and murdering their mother."

"I don't deny what happened to Elia Martell and her kids Jon" Tyrion replied. "But are you aware of what the mad king had planned for the city?" The look on Jon's face told Tyrion that he was not aware.

"Jaime told me this once. The mad king had ordered him to kill Lord Tywin, his own father, and bring his head to him. After ordering Jaime to commit kinslaying, the mad king ordered his pyromancer to enact his plan. The king and placed caches of wildfire in the tunnels underneath the city's major sites: the spte of Baelor, the market places, the red keep, all of them. He planned to set those caches off and kill the entire residency of the city, traitor and loyalist alike. THAT is why Jaime turned on him. He never mentioned this to anyone but me because he felt no one would believe him, not even Lord Stark."

Jon felt absolutely sickened. "That's horrible, but what does it have to do with me?"

Tyrion looked dumbstruck. "Jon, are you kidding me? You claim that you're planning on destroying King's Landing! That's exactly what your grandfather was going to do!"

Sansa chose this moment to speak up. "Jon, that ultimatum terrified me as well. I know you wanted to free me, and I know the lannisters deserve to suffer for what they did to our family. But there are about a million people in King's Landing, and they are mostly innocent smallfolk. I also have some genuine friends still in the city like Margery Tyrell. When I heard that threat, I was genuinely afraid the next time I saw you would be as you were murdering an entire city. I know we didn't know each other well growing up, but how could you even consider doing something like that?"

Jon turned a disbelieving and heartbroken look towards his sister. "Sansa, do you really think I would actually do that?"

"Jon, you already did. You butchered the entire population of the twins. I realize many were in on Walder's Frey's plan, but the _children_?!"

"That is why I came here" Tyrion spoke up. "Jon, this is war, and I realize people get hurt in war. But there are certain boundaries that shouldn't be crossed and killing innocent people is one of them."

Jon was about to respond when the door suddenly burst open and Rickon ran into the room screaming his name. "Jon, Jon, I gotta tell you something!"

"Rickon! What are you doing?!"

"You told me to come find you when that prison convoy reached its destination. We got a letter from the spearwives at the dreadfort saying the prisoners are there."

Both Sansa and Tyrion look confused at Rickon's statement. "Prisoners" Tyrion asked. This caused Jon to let out a slight laugh.

"Rickon" he said. "You have perfect timing, but we need to work on your entrances."

"Jon" Sansa said. "What does he mean? What prisoners?"

Jon picked his little brother up and set him in his lap. "Ok, its time I told you both what really happened at the twins."

 **The Twins, shortly after Jon was proclaimed King in the North**

 _Jon approached the mass crowd of people who had been forced on their knees. His war party surrounded to residents of the twins while he and a select few stood in front of the captured frey family. "Ygritte, is this all the residents?"_

 _"It is, your grace" his kingsguard replied. "We also located some prisoners. I think they are mostly people captured during the massacre that took place here."_

 _"Good, I'll speak to them later" he replied. Jon than turned his attention back to the crowd before him. It was time to enact his plan. "Tormund, bring me Lord Frey."_

 _Tormund Giantsbane, Ygritte's former chief, grabbed the elderly lord and dragged him towards Jon. He roughly threw him at Jon's feet. Lord Frey looked up at the one who led the attack on his fortress with fear in his eyes._

 _"Do you know who I am" Jon asked. "No" Walder replied._

 _Jon bent down and whispered into his ear "My name is Jon Snow. Robb Stark was my brother." He stood back up to see Walder looking absolutely terrified._

 _"Wait, wait. Please, I beg you..." but Walder's pleas were cut off as Jon proceeded to beat the old man as brutally as he could. While this was going on, Tormund signaled for the free folk to begin herding the non-combatant population of the twins into the nearest buildings like Jon had instructed them. Jon occasionally stopped to rest for a moment before resuming his attack on Walder. Finally, Jon glanced up to see Tormund nodding towards him. It was time. Jon stopped beating Walder and grabbed his hair, forcing him to turn towards the buildings._

 _"I want you to see this" Jon said. He turned to Blizzard who stood a few feet away from them. "Dracarys!"_

 _Blizzard reared up on his hind legs and took a deep breath. He thrust his head forward and his freezing dragonfyre exploded from his mouth to engulf the buildings the people had been put inside of. Jon heard shouts of dismay and horror from the remaining prisoners as Blizzard's breath not only flash froze the structures but caused them to start crumbling from the sheer power of his breath. About a minute later, the dragon stood down and nothing was left except frozen debris. Jon turned back to Walder, who had a horrified look on his face. He then glanced towards Tormund and nodded. At this, Tormund and the other free folk drew their weapons and tore into the Frey men and soldiers. Soon, only three guards were left._

 _Jon drew his sword and forced Walder to bend down on a block of wood that had been brought before him. "Walder Frey, you are guilty of breaking guest right and mass murder. As king in the north, I sentence you to die." He swiftly brought his sword down and soon Walder Frey's head was rolling on the ground. Jon picked up the head and brought it to Blizzard, who promptly froze it. Jon than dropped it into the sack that contained Roose and Ramsay's heads before turning towards the three guards who were still held prisoner. Jon took each guard in turn and pushed their faces into a pile of frozen wood, causing them to scream in agony as the sheer cold caused frostbite to form on their faces._

 _Once this was done, Jon quickly wrote his ultimatum down and brought the senior guard to him. He handed him the sack and letter before telling him what to do. "You and your fellow guards are to go south to King's Landing. You are to go before the royal family and all their court and tell them what happened here. You will show them the contents of this sack and hand this letter to them. Understand?"_

 _"Ye...yes" the guard replied._

 _After the guards were a few miles away from the now ruined fortress, Jon entered the barracks that his soldiers had used as a shelter for the residents of the twins. He entered to find some of his men guarding the women, children, and elderly. "People of the twins, I am Jaehaerys Targaryen, king in the north. I know you all are scared right now, but I tell you all there is no reason to fear me any longer. You will all be spared."_

 **Present Day**

"Afterwards, we waited another day until a host of soldiers from Lord Howland Reed arrived. They took the prisoners and marched them to the dreadfort. I arranged for a garrison of free folk spearwives to guard them until I deal with Tywin Lannister. At that point, they'll be released and returned to the riverlands where we'll help them resettle and rebuild their lives."

Jon finished his story and was amused to see Tyrion looking dumbstruck. "But... but... why would you lead those guards to think you killed all the smallfolk too?"

"To ensure my bluff would be easier to swallow" Jon replied. "I know Tywin is a master manipulator. I needed to find a way to get him and his allies to think they're dealing with a ruthless enemy rather than one who actually cares for the people. I'm not just settling the score with him, I plan to beat Tywin at his own game. I'm hoping to stir up terror in him and his allies, maybe even scare some of them into declaring for me."

Tyrion contnued to stare in shock at Jon for a few more moments. Then, he started laughing and promptly fell out of his chair. "I can't believe this! My father was caught off guard and bluffed!"

Sansa appeared to be relieved that her brother/cousin wasn't the mass murdering tyrant that he'd led the lannisters to think he was. Rickon was also laughing, though not as hard as Tyrion was. "Sansa" Jon said "I also know we didn't know each other well when we were younger. But I would never deliberately hurt someone who was innocent."

 **Meereen**

Daenerys Targaryen sat on her throne as Jorah was brought before her.

"Jorah Mormont, you were found to be a spy in my ranks for House Baratheon."

"Khalessi..." Jorah's response was cut off by Daenerys.

"I am not going to have you killed. I may still have use for you."

Jorah now look confused, as did the rest of the people in the throne room, including Missandei and Ser Barristan Selmy.

"As you are aware, I recently was presented with a letter from one of my relatives in Westeros. He claims that I have a nephew who is ahead of me in the line of succession. I want you to return to Westeros and seek him out."

"What is it you wish me to do once I find him?"

"You are to act as an envoy for me" Daenerys replied. "When I received that letter, I felt like I was without a purpose. I had been preparing for years for the day when I would take back the Iron Throne, only to find that there is another person whose right to it is greater than mine."

"Khalessi" Barristan spoke up. "We discussed this. Just because you have a nephew ahead of you doesn't mean..."

"Ser Barristan, I'm not in a state of despair anymore. In fact, I'm elated that I have more family still out there. But I don't know anything about them. Jorah, I want you to speak with them for me. Find out who this Jaehaerys really is. If he is my nephew, tell him I wish to ally with him against the lannisters and this other threat that he is facing. But if this is some kind of deception, if this person is not my nephew, I want you to make it clear that he will suffer for using my family name to further his own plans."


	7. Chapter 7

**I decided to add this early. Yes, this too is short, but I feel this is important.**

 **Also on that subject, I would like to say that I write in the style I write in. If you don't like how long the chapters are, fine. You don't need to read it. I'm just posting ideas and using this as writing practice.**

 **To answer the question about Ygritte, I feel like she and Jon are genuinely in love like in the show. But no, its not a sexual relationship. Jon may be a king now, but he still has issues with the idea of fathering a bastard of his own (even if he could make the child legitimate). Plus, Ygritte is still getting used to life south of the wall, and she doesn't think she'd be a good queen. Finally, there is one last condition of being in Jon's kingsguard that is keeping them from completely acting on their feelings. You'll find out about this later.**

 **I will also say once again to all people who post reviews: please don't be rude. I don't care if you are aiming an insult at me or another commentator. There is no need for foul language.**

 _Tywin had been running from the direwolf for so long now, but it wasn't doing any good. The giant wolf just kept coming no matter how fast or long he kept running or how much distance he put between them. The streets of king's landing were completely deserted, no one was coming out to help him. Well, not completely deserted; they were littered with the bodies of his soldiers. Suddenly, he tripped up and fell face first into a puddle. A laugh caused him to look up and see a northman dressed in Targaryen armor before him. Suddenly he felt something huge press him back onto the street. The direwolf had caught up to him at last._

 _"Targaryen" he called out. "Please, call off your wolf. Please, I surrender."_

 _"Poor Tywin" Jaehaerys said as he stared down at him. "You think yourself a great man, a feared ruler, a lion in human form. But in reality your just a scared kitten."_

 _Tywin felt his anger rise beyond his fear. "How dare you! I am the lord of the Westerlands!"_

 _"Bad cat! Don't talk back to your king!"_

 _"You are not..."_

 _"QUIET! Sit!"_

 _Tywin found himself on all fours as if he were bowing. "Sit at my feet, where you belong."_

 _More laughter echoed around him. He turned to see three figures surrounding him. One looked similar to the Targaryen whose wolf had been chasing him, and another was a young dornish woman. He knew these to be Robb Stark and Elia Martell. But it was the third person who truly shocked him: she was the single most beautiful woman Tywin had met in his life, the love of his life. "Joanna?!"_

 _His wife dropped her amused look as he called out to her and replaced it with a look of scorn. "You dishonored the lannister family for the last time."_

 _"Sooner or later," Jaehaerys said, drawing Tywin's attention back to him, "your crimes were always going to catch up to you."_

 _"Husband" Joanna said._

 _"Tyrant" Robb Stark said._

 _"Monster" Elia Martell said._

 _Jaehaerys stepped forward and grabbed Tywin's hair, forcing him to look up at him. "You can never suffer enough in this life for all the lives you destroyed, Tywin. But now, now your reckoning has come."_

 _Jaehaerys let go and walked back to where his dragon was swooping down._

 _"Farewell, Tywin" Joanna said._

 _"Go, join your old friend the mad king" Robb said._

 _"HA" Elia laughed. "How does it feel to be wiped from the face of the Earth?"_

 _Jaehaerys turned back towards him as his dragon landed. "Dracarys!" The dragon reared back, and dragonfire exploded from its mouth. Tywin let out a horrified scream as the creature's breathe engulfed him._

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Tywin woke up screaming, briefly not knowing where he was before remembering he was in the tower of the hand. He was dripping with ice cold sweat and breathing like he just ran a marathon. It was the same nightmare again, the one that had been plaguing him more frequently since that ultimatum had been brought to the capitol. He reached for a pitcher of wine on the table next to his bed and poured himself a drink.

The door flew open as two armed guards stormed into the room, weapons drawn and looking around the room. "Lord hand," one of them said. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" he responded. "I just had a nightmare."

The guards left shortly after looking through the room for any sign of a possible intruder. Tywin downed all the wine he poured in one gulp. He was reluctantly starting to understand Tyrion's near obsession with wine.

After setting his cup down, Tywin placed his palms on his forehead and sighed in frustration. It wasn't supposed to be like this. The red wedding was supposed to stop the war, not escalate it further, and certainly not to a point where his victory seemed like a near impossibility. It's as if the gods were torturing him for the fun of it. Hadn't he suffered enough when Tyrion was born?! That day cost him his beloved wife and handed him a dwarf son.

He had just ended the war with the north and secured his family's dominance over the continent. Yes, there was still Stannis Baratheon on the isle of dragonstone and the ironborn were still in rebellion, but the main enemy had been Robb Stark and his family and they were gone. It seemed like his legacy was almost completely secured, the only loose end being Jaime's continued insistence on remaining in the kingsguard. But months after Robb Stark and his wretched family had been wiped out, those three frey guards had come to the capitol with news of a new challenger. And it wasn't just any challenger: a TARGARYEN! Those dragons didn't know when to give up!

But it wasn't just the Targaryen that was gnawing at him, it was the fact that the Targaryen had been present all along. The new king in the north had been right in front of him the entire time and not once had he had so much as a suspicion. When Tyrion (honestly, why did he need to be the most useful of his children) had told the entire throne room of Eddard Stark's ruse Tywin felt like a complete idiot. Of course his so called bastard was really his nephew. The wretched spawn of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen.

Rhaegar. That prince had been part of his ultimate ambition, but of course the mad king wouldn't allow it. Tywin had been publically insulted when Aerys turned down the idea of his son marrying Cersei. Than Rhaegar had disappeared with that northern girl and plunged the continent into civil war. Of course, that war had gotten Rhaegar killed and allowed Tywin the opening he needed to finish Aerys and Rhaegar's children, along with the bitch who had been chosen over his daughter. Then he finally got his family into ultimate power in Westeros by Robert Baratheon marrying Cersei.

But it turns out Rhaegar had a secret heir the whole time. Tywin just knew this Jaehaerys was no bastard. The kingsguard wouldn't have been guarding Lyanna if she was pregnant with a blackfyre. This meant that Robert, and by extension his grandchildren, were all usurpers to the iron throne. There were too many people who would never accept another family as the monarchy as long as any Targaryens were still alive. Of course with Robert's armies and the alliances from the rebellion had secured the throne from any remaining Targaryen loyalists. But the recent war that his grandson so idiotically started had destroyed those alliances. Now the Targaryen heir was bearing down on him while his power base was practically depleted. And to top it all off, his opponent had a dragon at his command. A dragon that was said to be the largest in all of recorded history.

The news of the dragon upstart had caused him so much trouble. His gall to demand his head, the riots in the capitol, the latter of which caused an attempted assassination by the smallfolk, Joffrey and Cersei behaving like spoiled children, and then Tyrion disappearing with the Stark girl. Then he heard suspicions among the small council that said the Tyrells were considering withdrawing from their alliance. Tywin had taken steps to ensure that if the Tyrells came to that decision that Margarey would be securely kept in the city. Olenna would never risk her granddaughter's life if Tywin managed to keep her as a hostage. Finally, according to Varys' little birds the Targaryen boy was currently sending envoys to dragonstone to open dialogue with the remaining Baratheons.

Now, that last bit of news had given a possible opening to them. If they could slip an assassin in among a diplomatic party the Targaryen boy could be taken care of, and even if they failed the Baratheons would get the blame. But Tywin was still hesitant to do this. As the ultimatum said, any action against the north (which now included the riverlands once again, as the riverlords were sending emissaries to Winterfell to re-pledge their loyalty to the northern throne) would bring the dragon down on them, and there was no guarantee the north wouldn't figure out who was truly behind a botched assassination attempt. Instead, Tywin was focusing on waging economic warfare against his newest rival. If he could compete with the north for the grain shipments that were being arranged to be sent from Essos, he could ware down the north's armies. Of course, that still left the dragon, but he'd arranged for extra help from the citadel in designing a new weapon for taking the dragon down.

Tywin laid back down and closed his eyes. "Targaryen, you will not best me. No matter what you throw at me, I will not submit to you. You won't take my head."

But as Tywin tried to get back to sleep, little did he know that there was someone else conspiring against Jon, and they were determined to see him assassinated regardless of the risks.

 **Dorne**

Doran Martell was sitting on a step in one of the many pools in the water gardens. The cool water felt wonderful , no matter how hot the dornish sun would make his desert kingdom. Actually, the water's temperature was perfect when the sun warmed it just a tad, like it was right now. If Doran didn't have to worry about drowning he could fall asleep right there. The waters weren't just soothing on his body, but submersing himself in the water gardens was also a good way to help easy stress, something that had rudely come and paid him an unwelcome visit when his brother sent him a letter about a major political upset in the capitol.

His moment of peace was interrupted by an excited cry from his right. Opening his eyes, Doran saw his daughter run to the edge of the pool, leap into the air and splash down in front of him. Arianne's little antic soaked the upper half of his body that he'd been keeping out of the water for the time being, his unconscious attempt at shielding himself by raising his arms a failure. Arianne resurfaced a few feet away from him with a mischievous look. It was clear that the child-like happiness she and her siblings and cousins had been experiencing since Oberyn sent his message was not wearing down.

"Arianne, did you really need to do that?"

"Oh come on, father. Even you with your peace-mongering philosophy should be excited by the lannisters' predicament."

Doran was annoyed at his daughter's jab at his little act. Of course, she didn't know it was an act. He had only conspired Tywin's downfall with Oberyn while letting the rest of Dorne, and the world, think he was taking a neutral position on the injustices that befell Elia and her children.

"You're a young woman. Sneaking up on your father and surprising him like that is too childish for you."

"Is it, or are you just so old that you can't have fun anymore?"

"Oh ok, that's it." Doran splashed his daughter and proceeded to leap off his step into the pool. However, this caused a searing pain to shoot through his legs. His gout had left him semi-crippled for years. Arianne dropped her playful attitude immediately and embraced her father.

"Father, I'm sorry. I didn't..."

"You didn't do this Arianne. I chose to leap up. Maybe you were right about me."

"No, no. I'm sorry I said that. I know you can still have fun despite your condition."

"Ok, let's stop this. Actually Arianne, I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Not here. Come to my solar in half an hour. I'll tell you there."

Half an hour later, Doran was sitting in his solar looking at the letter Oberyn recently sent him. Tywin was certainly getting a major headache. This Jaehaerys Targaryen certainly knew how to make an opening play. But unlike Arianne, her brothers and the sand snakes, Doran didn't find as much humor with the news of what was occurring beyond Dorne's borders. Of course he found Tywin's problems amusing. But the new Targaryen had made him somewhat upset.

Rhaegar's son with the woman he disgraced Elia with. At least, that's what he had thought. But Oberyn said the Targaryen had named Elia as his mother's co-wife. Of course, it was an old custom in the Targaryens' culture to take multiple spouses, just as much as it was for them to marry their siblings. Doran hadn't considered before that it was possible Elia hadn't been discarded by her husband. He also didn't know if a possible alliance with Lyanna's son was a good idea. Yes, they had a common enemy in the lannisters and yes he had a dragon. But this boy also seemed to be starting to show signs of his family's madness. The saying was when a new Targaryen was born the gods flipped a coin to decide if they would be sane or mad. While he might be Rhaegar's son and had been raised by Eddard Stark, Jaehaerys' decision to massacre the entirety of the twins' population was something the mad king would do.

Of course, Doran understood the freys had butchered his family and he wanted to avenge them. He felt the same way since Elia and her kids had been killed. But there were lines that shouldn't be crossed and killing innocents was one of them. This was why Doran refused to allow Myrcella Baratheon (or waters) to be harmed, no matter how much some of his citizens wanted to. Doran needed to know more about this Jaehaerys who had declared war on Tywin and his grandson.

Arianne entered the solar wearing new clothes to replace the ones she wore when she went swimming earlier. "Well father, what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Arianne, you remember the Targaryen. I feel like we need to know more about him, and I think you would be the perfect one to do so. I want you to act as Dorne's emissary and go north to speak with him and his court."

Arianne looked quite surprised. "I thought you were against approaching him because of the disgrace his parents brought on Aunt Elia."

"I'm not against allying with him. But I need to know if he is someone who would make a good ally or if he is the latest unstable Targaryen. You will be escorted by my best guards, and you are to be careful around him. But I need to know about him. Also, try to find out what he is playing at by claiming Elia wasn't cast aside by Rhaegar."

"I will try father."

"Good. You will leave for the north at sundown. I will send a letter to Winterfell to let them know you are coming."

 **I still plan on bringing our two Targaryens together, but now I'm also thinking of adding Arianne into the mix. I think she and Jon would be interesting, especially since the Targaryens practice polygamy. But my game plan is still to be Jon and Daenerys.**

 **Also, the additional person conspiring against Jon won't be a major shocker when I get to them.**


	8. Chapter 8

**The Citadel**

Samwell Tarly walked with great haste towards the room where the maesters kept their messenger ravens. Yes, the speed at which he was going was making a decent amount of noise and could potentially wake someone up, but it was a risk he had to take. Jon had to see what he'd found.

Months ago, his best friend had returned to castle black on the back of a huge dragon. Jon had been gone so long that he was actually starting to think that he really did desert after all. So the sight of him landing back at their castle with a dragon and wildling, no, free folk, chieftains was a major shock. But that was nothing compared to the revelation that his friend was actually the rightful king of all the kingdoms of westeros. Of course he would be discharged from the order. The plan to bring the free folk south was formed soon after, and Sam was elated that the order was going through with it. He knew how great a threat the white walkers posed. He had just barely managed to destroy one of those monsters when it came for Gilly's son.

Than Jon became angrier than Sam had seen him be before. The news of his brother's death infuriated him. But despite that, Jon was able to keep a clear mind and remember the greater threat. So, once he'd been declared the new king in the north, Jon set to work at preparing for the coming storm while also dealing with his brother's murderers. To that end, Jon had arranged for Sam to go to the citadel, the headquarters for the wisest men in westeros, and look through all the archives there for any information that could help against the white walkers under the guise of a maester in training.

Sam left Gilly and her son with Jon and his family while he undertook his mission. On the way there, he decided to stop by his home and see his family first. His mother and sister were happy to see him, and his brother was somewhat pleased as well. But as Sam expected, his father was far from happy. The old fool had said he'd murder him if he didn't join the night's watch and renounce all claims to the family legacy. So Sam took great pleasure in telling the rest of his family this, as well as what Jon had planned. "When Jon takes the throne, he intends to discharge me from the order and reinstate me as the heir of House Tarly. He also plans on stripping you of your lordship as punishment for what you did to me." His father was too horrified to respond to this, or his mother's fury when she learned the truth of why he'd joined the night's watch.

Sam's time at the citadel was somewhat enjoyable, at least when he was in the archives. The chores he had to do were annoying, but it was part of the act. Truly, being a maester was what Sam had wanted his whole life. But now that he was here and saw how the conclave acted when presented with the knowledge that the white walkers were returning (many laughed while the few who listened insisted the wall would protect the realm), he decided that going to join Jon's council was a better course.

But a few nights ago, Sam had overheard some of the maesters grumbling and decided to investigate. They were upset at working with a former colleague named Qyburn, who had been sent to the citadel on the orders of Tywin Lannister to build a weapon that the former maester had designed for fighting Jon's dragon. The conclave had reluctantly seen the plans Qyburn brought, and set to work building the weapon after seeing that it was possible.

Sam had snuck into the room the plans were kept in and became horrified at what he saw. Taking the plans for the experimental weapon, Sam had copied them and was now trying to send them to Winterfell. What the lannisters had planned was near insane, and at the same time brilliant. Jon had to know about this.

* * *

 **Winterfell**

Jon strode through the halls of his home towards the great hall. He entered to find his guests already arrived. It was an unusual gathering: Arianne Martell of Dorne, Stannis Baratheon and his closest advisors, and finally the exiled northern lord Jorah Mormont. All of them had gotten to Winterfell in the past few days to talk with him. Luckily Jon had chosen to fly to the eyrie to get Arya back, otherwise his guests would have been waiting for weeks.

"Well my guests" Jon said as he took his seat. "Let us begin. Who wishes to go first?"

"I shall" Stannis Baratheon said as he stood up. "You summoned me here claiming you only wanted to talk. Yet you are pushing for my rightful place on the throne of westeros."

"I'm afraid my claim to the throne is ahead of yours, Ser" Jon replied. "As it is also ahead of my aunt's, Ser Mormont."

"You claim to be the son of the late crown prince, yet I see no proof to this" Baratheon countered. "You look almost exactly like Eddard Stark."

"Which is probably the main reason my uncle's deception worked so well. I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now if I resembled my real father in any way."

"So how do you expect us to believe you are who you claim to be" Arianne spoke up. "Even if you are Rhaegar's son with Lyanna Stark, why should we submit to you? Your parents dishonored my aunt by having you."

"Lady Arianne" Jon said. "I understand you and your father's skepticism, but I assure you Elia Martell was not dishonored. My father kept her as his wife while also marrying my mother."

"But again" Jorah spoke up. "Where is the proof?"

"I actually can prove beyond any doubt that I am who I say I am. But I ask that you keep an open mind; it is more than a little unconventional."

Jon's guests looked confused by this statement. Finally, one of Baratheon's councilors spoke up. "My lord, or your grace, whichever you may be, if you do indeed have proof, I think I speak for all of us here when I ask that you present it."

Jon turned to the councilor, a woman named Melisandre, and nodded his head. "I shall."

Jon summoned a guard and asked them to bring Leaf and the three-eyed raven to the hall. Minutes later, his guests somewhat recoiled in shock at the sight of Leaf as she entered with the elderly man. Of course, Jon expected as much; the children of the forest hadn't been seen by most of westeros in millennia.

"My guests, allow me to present Leaf of the children of the forest and her companion, the three-eyed raven. They are the ones who informed me of my heritage, and they can show you that I am indeed telling the truth."

After explaining what they had planned, Leaf and the old man asked the assembly before them to each touch them. While hesitant, Jon's guests all agreed, and seconds later Leaf and the old man's eyes became milky white as they showed the assembly the past through their greenseeing. It took a few minutes before their eyes returned to normal, and Jon's guests looked like they were all in shock. Arianne was the first to recover.

"I... I see that Lord Eddard Stark's honor knew no bounds. You truly are Rhaegar and Lyanna's son."

"Yes" Jon replied. "I am also your late cousins' half brother. Arianne, your family has my deepest sympathies for what happened to Elia and her children. But I assure you, Tywin WILL answer for what he and his wretched vassal did."

Arianne looked much happier, but she still seemed hesitant about something. "What about yourself, your grace? Your character?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

"I'm talking about your potential to follow in your grandfather's footsteps. Not Lord Stark, I mean the mad king. Right before I left Dorne to sail north my father let me in on his plan to get rid of the lannisters, and you would certainly be a powerful ally. But my father and I also don't wish to see another insane ruler on the throne."

"You mean aside from the one who is currently sitting on it" Jorah Mormont said. This remark caused all present to laugh, relieving some of the tension.

Jon spoke once he calmed down. "Arianne, if you are referring to what happened at the twins, I can tell you that despite what the realm thinks I didn't hurt anyone innocent. Also, while I can't tell the future, I already took steps to ensure another tyrant can't remain in power once I reclaim the throne. My kingsguard will see to that."

"What will the kingsguard do" Baratheon asked.

"I'm fully aware of what the mad king was like, and I'm sure Daenerys is as well since he was her father. Because of that, when I formed my own kingsguard, I rewrote the rules of their purpose. They are still to keep their liege safe. But if I or any ruler after me becomes tyrannical, the kingsguard ultimate duty will be to remove them from the throne. They are to do so peacefully, or kill them if they will not be persuaded."

All present were shocked into silence. Jon continued when no one spoke for a minute. "I'm not willing to risk another mad ruler harming the people. My guards are to protect me, but if I succumb to the same madness that so many in my father's family did their goal will be to ensure the kingdom's safety instead."

"Wait" Ser Davos, another of Baratheon's councilors, said. "Is that why you and that woman guard aren't truly pursuing each other? I saw the way you two look at each other and interact, but I remember someone telling me you weren't really courting."

Jon got a sad look on his face. "Yes. Ygritte and I are drawn to each other, but we both know we can't go any further than we are now. It wouldn't do for my wife to have to kill me someday."

* * *

Hours later, Jon and Ygritte were meeting Stannis, his advisors and Leaf inside Winterfell's godswood. Jon wanted to discuss the other reason he called the Baratheons up to Winterfell in a more private setting. "So its these white walkers who are the real threat to the realm" Melisandre said.

"Yes" Jon replied. "Stannis, according to the children, you are another potential candidate for the prince who was promised."

"I thought I certainly was the prince who was promised" Baratheon replied, casting a wary glance towards Melisandre. It was her prophecies that said so, or at least her interpretation of them.

"It is almost impossible to perfectly predict the future" Leaf said. "But I can say you are one of the possible ones it could be."

"This is the other reason I called you up here" Jon said. "I'm fully aware of your more dishonorable actions during the war against the lannisters, including engaging in a blood ritual to try to ensure my brother's death. But the way I see it, you are no more guilty of killing him than Theon Greyjoy is. We need to work together to fight the white walkers."

But as Jon continued to discuss his plans with the Baratheons, Ygritte noticed something from the corner of her sight. She turned and saw a figure standing near a tree with something in their hands. Her eyes widened when she saw it was a crossbow, and that they were aiming at Jon.

"NOOOOO!"

Ygritte cried out and threw herself forward, knocking Jon out of the way just as the assassin fired. The bolt that was meant for Jon instead was buried in her chest, causing her to collapse on top of the man she loved. "YGRITTE" Jon cried out when he saw what had happened. Stannis leapt to his feet, drawing his sword and charging the assassin.

"Guards" Leaf shouted as loud as she could, hoping some of the people outside the godswood could hear. "Block the entrance!"

Jon cradled Ygritte after pulling the arrow out of her chest, ignoring the chaos that was forming at the entrance of is home's most sacred site. He pressed down on the wound, trying to stop the blood.

"Ygritte! Ygritte, listen to me! You can't die! Please!"

Ygritte looked into her lover's eyes as she reached up to touch his face. "Jon, this is one order I can't follow."

"No! You are not going to die on me!"

"I'm afraid I am. I... I love you, your kneelership."

"I love you too."

Ygritte smiled one last time, and then her hand fell to the side as she breathed her last breathe.

Jon stormed into Winterfell's great hall to see a crowd of people gathered around two of his remaining kingsguard. Between his guards was the assassin who murdered Ygritte as well as Stannis. The Baratheon king had tried to chase the man down, only to be fatally wounded by a throwing knife. Following his capture, the assassin was attacked by Tormund who beat the killer almost to the point of death for what happened to his former clansman. Not since he learned of Robb's death had Jon been this furious. Reaching the assassin, he grabbed the assailant by the hair and forced him to look him in the eye.

"Who hired you?!"

The assassin didn't say a word. He merely looked back at Jon, matching the rage on the monarch's face. Jon released the man's hair and swung the hardest punch he could, knocking a few of the man's teeth out.

"You killed two people in my home, one of whom meant a great deal to me! I will get the identity of your employer, but your way of dying depends on whether you cooperate or not."

The assassin continued to stare before finally speaking up. "Doran Martell. He felt you were a living insult to his sister, so he wanted me to get rid of you."

"LIAR!"

Arianne pushed her way through the crowd, causing the assassin's eyes to go wide in shock.

"My father sent me here to speak with the king in the north! He would never try something like this!"

Jon turned to the crowd. "Leaf!" The child of the forest stepped forward. "I need you to look into this filth's mind and tell me who ordered him to attack me."

Leaf approached the now terrified prisoner and grabbed him by the forehead, her eyes going milky white. Seconds later, she let go. "It was Joffrey Waters. Tywin Lannister's grandson ordered him to try to kill you, Jon."

"I should've known" Jon said. He then turned towards Ygritte's murderer. "You had your chance. Now your death will be agonizing."

Minutes later, the assassin was thrown into the kennels and locked in. Jon and his siblings were all present on the other side of the cage doors to watch their prisoner's demise. The assassin turned around when he heard a low snarl. Ghost, Summer and Shaggydog stepped out of the shadows, each one looking hungrily at the prisoner before them. Ghost was the one who got the first bite, and soon all three siblings were tearing at the assassin as they slowly ate him alive.

* * *

A few hours later, Jon was in Winterfell's great hall with Sansa, Bran, Arya and Tyrion. Mance Rayder, Tormund and Leaf were also present. They were all trying to comfort each other at the loss of Ygritte. Jon loved her, and Mance and Tormund knew her for years. Her death was a terrible loss for them all.

"I didn't know Ygritte well" Arya said. "However, I know she will want us to move on. We should mourn her, though we should also keep going forward."

"Agreed" Sansa said. "I must say though, it is strange that Joffrey did this. Yes, he is a tyrant and our opponent, but he is also an idiot. I can't see how Joffrey would go behind his grandfather's back and do this."

"He didn't" Leaf said. All turned towards her.

"You said Joffrey sent the assassin" Bran said.

"He did" Leaf replied. "However, it was not actually his idea. The one who came up with the idea was someone named Petyr Baelish."

"Baelish" Tyrion asked. "I know him. He's the master of coin in king's landing. He is widely suspected to have his own spy network in westeros just like Varys. Are you sure he is behind this?"

"Yes. I saw it all when I looked into the assassin's mind. It was also his idea that the assassin try to frame Dorne in case he got caught."

"I think I remember him" Sansa said. "I may have seen him a few times. But why would he do something like this?"

"Wait" Arya said. "Wasn't Baelsih the one who challenged uncle Brandon for mother's hand?"

Arya's statement triggered a memory for Jon. Of course!

"Wait" Mance said. "What is this? Your mother knew this Baelish?"

"Yes" Sansa said, remembering the story as well. "Petyr Baelsih had grown up with our mother. When she was betrothed to our uncle Brandon Stark, he challenged him for the right to marry her and lost, though mother stopped Uncle Brandon from killing him. Brandon was later killed by the mad king, leaving mother to be married to father instead."

"But that still doesn't explain why he would go after Jon" Bran said.

"No, but I think I can" Tyrion said. "Littlefinger, that's his nickname, was in on the betrayal of your father in king's landing. Its partially his fault Lord Stark was killed. He might have been afraid Jon would find out and add him to his list of people to go after."

"It sounds to me like your mother should have let this Littlefinger die when she had the chance" Tormund said.

The group's conversation was interrupted by a knock on one of the side doors. Jon answered it to find the maester holding a particularly fat letter.

"Your grace, this just arrived for you."

"Thank you." Jon took the letter and opened it to find it was a letter sealed with what looked like a diagram of some kind.

"It's from Sam. He says... oh you have got to be kidding me!"

"What is it" Arya asked.

"The lannisters bullied the maesters at the citadel to build a weapon that is meant to kill Blizzard."

Jon walked over to his solar's table and laid out the plans. The weapon looked like a ballista of some kind, but it was the bolt that really got Jon and Tyrion's attention. It had a container built into the head that was said to hold...

"Wildfire. My father seems to be going crazy" Tyrion said.

"But this doesn't make sense" Arya said. "Wildfire may be extremely explosive, but it would need something to ignite it first."

"They already figured it out" Jon said. "These plans say that between the bolt's head and the container is a pouch filled with loose shards of platinum. The idea is that when the bolt hits something, the platinum shards will be banged together so hard and fast that it'll cause a spark of flame."

"Thus igniting the wildfire" Tyrion finished "and causing whatever it hits to die in an explosion."

 **I was always going to kill off Ygritte. She's a great character, but I can't have her around when my plan is to bring Jon and Daenerys together.**

 **The platinum-wildfire idea comes from "Dragons: A Fantasy made Real." In that, dragons are said to seek out platinum deposits so they can carry platinum shards in their mouths. These shards would allow them to create a spark that would ignite a stream of hydrogen gas that they breathe out, enabling them to breathe fire.**

 **I'd like to thank the people who thought it was littlefinger who was conspiring to kill Jon. I originally planned it to just be Joffrey going behind Tywin's back, but your guess gave me an idea on how do bring littlefinger into this.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok, I thought long and hard about this and I decided that I was discarding the three-some of Jon, Daenerys and Arianne. I'm sorry.**

Jorah Mormont felt nervous as he was seated inside his father's office at castle black. He hadn't seen his father in years, and that was before he was forced to flee westeros because he was caught selling poachers into slavery. The dishonor he brought on his family and house was immense. He didn't know how his father would react to seeing him again.

Shortly after the death of the assassin that tried to murder king Jon, Jorah decided to clear the air with his family since he was now back home. Of course, the family he had left wasn't exactly happy to see him. The new head of House Mormont was his young cousin Lyanna, and Jorah quickly realized that the young girl had more courage and strength of character than the majority of knights in the world. She had still been in Winterfell when he'd arrived to speak with her king for Daenerys. Upon meeting face to face, Lyanna had promptly slapped him before chewing him out for his past actions. Jorah suspected that part of her reaction to him was that she was under the assumption that he was there to reclaim the position of head of house. Once he had explained that he was merely trying to mend his relationship with his family, as well as his desire to win back Daenerys' trust by serving her, she was a little more receptive. Lyanna ultimately decided to let him have a second chance, and chose to look past his crimes.

The door opened a few minutes later, and his father Jeor froze in shock upon seeing him. He closed the door after recovering, and walked over to his desk.

"I don't know whether to hug you or hit you."

"Well, you wouldn't be the first member of our family that hurt me. Lyanna's first act when we met was to slap me in the face."

His father chuckled ."I met her a few times. For one so young, she has quite a lot of spirit."

"Father" Jorah said. "I can't put into words how sorry I am for what I did. I just couldn't see another way at the time."

"Regardless of what your wife's expensive tastes in life, selling people into slavery is never an acceptable solution. It is a crime against all that our people hold dear. The whole of the north was disgusted with you, and most likely still are."

"Well, not the _entire_ north."

At his father's questioning look, Jorah explained. "I'm sure you are aware of the king's closest advisors (aside his family), the children of the forest?"

"Of course. He brought them to castle black when he returned from his journey north of the wall."

"Well, some of them found out what I had done and told me they were glad I did what I did. Because of their connection to nature, which far exceeds any northman's, they felt that a person who poaches animals deserves any punishment they receive. If that means being whipped and made to do forced labor, they are content with that."

"For some reason, I'm not surprised they would say that. But just because the children approve..."

Jorah cut his father off. "I know. I still live with some of the guilt of what I did. Helping Daenerys in her mission to eradicate slavery helped me cope with for the most, but not entirely."

"If you serve the rightful king's aunt, what are you doing here?"

Jorah once more felt shame for his past. "Well, I was originally spying on the remaining Targaryens. I was told by Varys that king Robert would grant me a pardon for my crimes and be allowed to return home if I did so. But as time went on I started to get closer to Daenerys , and I ultimately fell in love with her, so I stopped spying on her and became her guard in earnest. However, she learned of my past spying on her a few months back."

"I'm surprised you are still alive."

"Shortly before she learned the truth, Daenerys received a letter from your maester. He told her about the north's new king and how his claim to the throne was stronger than her own. This information made her decide to let me have a second chance."

"How?"

"She felt that I would make an ideal envoy. So she told me that if I truly wanted to continue serving her that I was to return home and find out who the new king in the north truly was. I gladly chose to do so. Though while I might earn her forgiveness, I doubt she'll ever return my feelings now."

Jeor was silent for some time. Finally, he spoke up again. "Well, I don't know if I can forgive you at this time Jorah. However, I am willing to try."

Jorah felt himself tearing up. "Father..."

He stopped talking as Jeor stood up and hugged him. Jorah returned the gesture, no longer trying to hold back the tears.

 **Winterfell**

Tyrion sat in his room starting on his fifth pitcher of wine for the day. All the years he spent drinking had helped him gain a strong tolerance to alcohol, or at least a stronger tolerance than most people. He could still get drunk if he consumed too much, which he'd been doing in the last few weeks. He missed Shae a lot. He'd sent her back home shortly after he decided to go north to try to negotiate with Jon because at the time he didn't know if he would succeed, or even make it out alive.

 _"Shae, listen to me! What I'm planning on doing could easily get me killed. If my father's guards catch me and Sansa I could be put to death as a traitor. If Jon decides not to listen to me I'll most likely be imprisoned. There is also a strong possibility he'll just kill me after what he did to the twins and what he is planning on doing to get at my father."_

 _"So why are you doing this?!"_

 _"Because there are innocent people who are at risk right now. Jon is planning on committing the worst mass murder this world has ever seen, and my father and idiot nephew are trying to provoke him further by continuing to hold his sister hostage. I'm trying to help the people of this city. If I fail, I don't want you in the city. I promise, if I come out of this alive I WILL find you again. But I want to make sure you are safe."_

Of course, upon arriving in Winterfell, Tyrion realized that his precaution was for nothing. Jon had pulled off the greatest bluff in westerosi history by faking the massacre of the innocent people at the twins. Now he was regretting not bringing Shae with him and Sansa.

But it wasn't just missing the woman he loved that was causing him to drink more. Tyrion was relieved Jon was nothing like his grandfather. But he was still intent on killing his father. Yes, Tyrion was not fond of his father after all the abuse he'd received all his life, but Tywin was still his father. Now that the time for Jon's attack on the south was getting closer and closer, Tyrion was finding it a little unsettling.

Also, it wasn't just Tywin that Jon was going after. Jon had learned a lot from the children of the forest about the crimes that had been committed against the Starks, and it wasn't just the red wedding. Apparently Jaime had been the one who threw Bran Stark out of the tower window. While he failed to kill the child, Jaime's action had crippled him as well as helped set the war of five kings in motion. Of course, the ultimate cause of the war was Joffrey's murder of Ned Stark, and apparently Littlefinger had been the mastermind behind the entire spiral into war since he killed Jon Arryn hoping to provoke a conflict. But Jon and his siblings had been infuriated upon learning what Jaime had done, and Tyrion couldn't blame them. As much as he loved his brother, he had to admit there was no excuse for what Jaime had done.

The truth Tyrion had to face is that his friend was planning to kill his family, and Tyrion found this to be harder to handle than he expected to cope with. No matter how much mutual hatred there was between them, they were still his family.

A knock on the door pulled Tyrion out of his brooding. "Enter." The door opened to reveal Jon and the two guards that had been assigned to watch him. While Jon trusted him, the northern lords had insisted that Tyrion be under constant watch when he arrived. There was too much mistrust for his family in the north.

"Tyrion" Jon addressed him as he shut the door. "We need to discuss something."

"What is it, your grace?"

"Well first of all" Jon said as he took the pitcher from Tyrion's hands, "this needs to stop. I get that you really enjoy wine, but even you can get too much in your body."

"Ok" Tyrion reluctantly responded. "What else?"

Jon sat down next to him and gave him a pitying look. "Tyrion, with the preparations for invading the south underway, I feel we need to talk about your stance on this whole conflict."

Tyrion looked stunned at his friend. "This is a little scary. That is exactly what I was thinking about before you came here. Are the children of the forest teaching you to read minds as well as advising you?"

"No Tyrion. It just seems like I have odd timing. But as I was saying, you know that I am going south soon."

"Yes I do. You plan to kill my family."

"I'm so sorry you are in this position Tyrion. But they have had this coming for a long time. I need to know where you stand on this matter."

Tyrion was silent for a moment. "Well, I know what my family has done to both sides of yours. Though I admit I have been more than a little down on this whole conflict. They are still my family, no matter how much hatred is between us. Though I'm not on poor terms with all my family. Jaime is the only one who has actually loved me as family should, and I know you intend to punish him. You know, when he realized who you were, he was torn on what to do."

"He was?"

"Yes. On the one hand, you are the son of Rhaegar. Jaime was on great terms with your father, and was devastated when he learned what Tywin had done to his children and Elia. But on the other hand, your ultimatum demanded Joffrey to kill Tywin. I'm afraid that made him relive your grandfather's last command to him, as well as his plan to destroy the city."

Neither spoke for a few moments after that. "However" Tyrion continued "I realize that Jaime wronged your family just as badly as Tywin, Cersei and Joffrey did. I also know you need to reclaim the throne in order to give westeros a chance for the coming invasion of the white walkers. I understand that my family will never work together with you. Therefore, they have to be removed from power. I can't take part in the actual fighting, but I will not attempt to stop you."

"I'm glad we understand each other. Once again, I'm so sorry you need to chose between your own family and the rest of westeros. You can stay here if you want. Bran and Rickon have really warmed up to you, and Sansa enjoys your company as well."

"Thank you Jon, but I think I'll go with you when you head for dragonstone. For some reason, I feel like I at least need to accompany you that far to have some kind of closure. But Jon, I do have one request: Myrcella and Tommen have done nothing to you. Please, I beg you to spare them."

"Tyrion, I would never deliberately hurt someone who is innocent. Plus, you heard Princess Arianne before she returned home, her father will not allow any harm to fall upon Myrcella. You have my word, your niece and nephew will be safe."

 **Meereen**

Daenerys sat on her throne as the messengers entered the room. One of them was a red priestess, while there were several short, hooded figures with her. The hoods were unique since they covered the face so well that you couldn't see who was wearing them unless you got about an inch away from the wearer's face.

"Your grace, I am Melisandre. I have come to deliver a message from both your emissary Jorah Mormont as well as your nephew, Jaehaerys Targaryen."

"Well, I welcome you to Meereen, but who are your companions?"

As soon as Daenerys asked, the three figures lowered their hoods. The entire room gasped as the figures were revealed to have heads shaped like plant life.

"In case you aren't familiar with the ancient history of westeros, these people are known as children of the forest. They were the original inhabitants of westeros, along with other non-human races like giants."

One of the children spoke up. "We are here because we need to speak with you about something, your grace, something far more important than your family's quest to reclaim their throne."

Daenerys recovered from her shock and addressed the child who spoke up. "Does this have something to do with this threat that my great uncle aemon mentioned in his letter?"

"Yes it does. Have you heard this prophecy: the prince who was promised will bring the dawn?"

"Yes, but as you can see, I'm no prince."

"Your grace" Missandei spoke up from her seat beside her "I'm afraid you are mistaken. You see, in high vaylarian, the term prince refers to the heir regardless of their gender. So, in the common tongue, the proper translation would be 'the prince, or _princess_ , who was promised will bring the dawn."

"Hmmm" Barristan Selmy replied. "That doesn't exactly roll off the tongue as well."

"No, but I certainly like it better" Daenerys replied with amusement. She then turned back to the messengers. "But what does this have to do with me? Are you saying you think I am the one this prophecy refers to?"

"We don't know, your grace" Melisandre replied. "For some time, I was sure the one who the prophecy referred to was Stannis Baratheon. But recent events have shown me I was mistaken. The children say that you are one of the few possible candidates for this prophecy. The only remaining candidate other than you is your nephew."

Daenerys was silent was silent for a moment. "So, you mean this Jon Snow really is my nephew?"

"Indeed he is" a child said. "The few remaining of our people confirmed this. However, we need to discuss just what else this prophecy refers to as well."

"Very well" Daenerys said. "Please inform us."

* * *

As the sun set on Meereen, Daenerys sat alone on her room's veranda looking at Jorah's letter.

 _Khalessei, I have spoken to the new king in the north. After meeting with him and his advisors, I must inform you that the stories about him are true. Jon Snow truly is your brother's son. Therefore, his claim to the throne is stronger than yours._

 _However, Jon understands that you have been working hard in an attempt to reclaim the throne, and he feels that you are just as deserving of it as he is. Therefore, he wishes me to tell you that if you wish to sit on the throne, he is willing to discuss a marriage alliance. You would both sit the throne and rule as equals, and while it might not be a truly loving marriage, he assures you that he will remain faithful to you should you two decide to marry._

 _Finally, I once more must say that I can never express how sorry I am for initially betraying you to the baratheon dynasty. While at the time I was hoping to receive a pardon for my crimes so I could return home, I did not realize how much I would come to care for you. I truly believe in you and would like nothing more than to continue serving you, if you will have me by your side. But I also must say this; while I truly believe in you, my loyalty goes beyond that. I love you. I know I have probably ruined any chance I had of winning your heart, but I want you to know that._

 _Jorah._

Daenerys felt tears roll down her cheeks as she finished reading. She had been angry when she learned that her oldest and dearest friend had been a spy. But his actions, along with his declaration, truly pulled at her heart. Jorah was correct, she could not return his romantic feelings. She just didn't feel the same about him. But she could forgive him. The next time she saw Jorah, she would gladly welcome him back to her side.

She had spent much of the day talking to her nephew's ambassadors. In the process, a clearer picture of him had entered her mind. Jaehaerys, or Jon, was a kind hearted man who genuinely cared for his people. He knew when to be harsh and ruthless, and when kindness and love was needed. He was the exact opposite of her brother Viseryes, whom she had assumed she would marry most of her life. She also knew how it felt to lose a loved one to a murderer; she had lost her husband to a witch after all. Their journeys also seemed to mirror each other, as they both started out with nothing and rose to become leaders of their people.

It seemed to her that the gods were trying to bring them together. She did worry that she might be rejected when her nephew learned she was unable to have children anymore, but something seemed to let her know that this wouldn't be an issue. Daenerys felt that she could actually come to love her nephew if they decide to marry. With that, she made her choice.

* * *

The following morning, Daenerys called her advisors and Jon's messengers to her throne room.

"I have decided that the time had come for me to return to westeros. My nephew will need help when these white walkers invade, and I wish to be there when our family takes the throne back from the ones who betrayed us."

 **Ok, I got a question for all of you. I don't know who I should have finish off clegane. Oberyn would be fitting, but I have a unique way of Jon's disposing of Elia's tormentor. So I'll ask, who do you think should kill clegane when the time comes?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ashemark**

"I'm telling you father, this fog is thicker than the pea soup we had at Crossroads Inn months ago."

Lord Daemon Marbrand snorted in brief amusement as he and his son stood on the outer wall of his castle, looking at the near insane amount of fog that was covering the land. He could barely see a few feet in front of him.

The insanity started shortly after the red wedding ended the stark's rebellion against the throne. Or, at least that's what the entire realm thought before the twins has been destroyed. Daemon remembered the day some of his scouts told him the twins were encased in a giant wall of ice. He and his eldest son Addam had rode out with a small party of guards to see for themselves. Upon returning home, he had sent a message to his liege lord Tywin in King's Landing trying to get an explanation. Tywin refused to send a reply, but he didn't need to; the story of the northern ultimatum and the new king in the north spread to all corners of the continent. Daemon found out that Tywin had tried to cover up the fact that a new Targaryen was on the move and coming for house lannister's destruction. He had found Tywin's attempt at secrecy utterly ridiculous, especially since this new king had a dragon larger than anything seen before.

Daemon had been surprised that the Targaryen hadn't swept south to attack after he destroyed house frey. Upon further inquiry with his fellow vassals, he'd learned that this Jaehaerys was currently organizing a massive army of wildlings into the north. At this, he was sure the new king was preparing to invade and was merely waiting for his armies to be fully readied. Than the riverlords had begun sending emissaries to the north to declare for the Targaryen, seemingly willing to completely forget the reign of terror that the mad king had unleashed. He had promptly written Tywin once again asking what to do, only to be ordered not to do anything. Apparently Tywin was under the impression that waiting for the Targaryen to come to them was the wisest move. While there might be some logic in that (invading the north meant dealing with Moat Cailin as well as winter weather), it still seemed insane to allow your enemy to build up their strength right on your doorstep.

Then about a week ago, this strange weather had rolled in and just stayed. The fog was so thick that travel was a near impossibility because of how limited one's vision was. Patrols, grain and tax shipments, even messenger ravens had all been stopped. Ashemark was completely isolated. Daemon had never been so confused and terrified in his life. It seemed like he was in a childhood nightmare where something could rush in from nowhere and catch him off guard.

"Has there been any news from near-by settlements" he asked his son.

"I'm afraid not, father. We..." Addam stopped mid-sentence. Daemon was about to ask why he stopped, when he heard something in the distance. It sounded like thunder rumbling in the north, but it was dragging on much longer than a storm. As time went on, the sound kept getting closer and louder. Suddenly, Daemon recognized it for what it was: the sound of an army marching.

"Sound the alarm! We are under attack!"

The alarm caused pandemonium from what he could see. Shadows of people fleeing in all directions down in the courtyard, crashing noises from people knocking stands and small structures over, screams of terror from mothers looking for their children. The guards in the towers and barracks seemed to be tripping over one another trying to get to their posts.

Daemon suddenly nearly lost his footing when a tremor went through the ground. This tremor was followed by much louder marching sounds, and more tremors immediately afterwards. Something big was nearby, and Daemon just knew whatever it was would be in the approaching army. He suddenly felt panic as he remembered the dragon that the northern king was said to have. Why it would be walking rather than flying he didn't know, nor did he really care.

The soldiers under his command lined up on the wall, the few he could see clearly looking absolutely terrified. The rumbling suddenly stopped and Daemon could now see the shadows of the enemy army aligned at the edge of the fog. But then the fog began to lift, and the enemy army could finally be seen. Daemon almost preferred that the fog stay upon seeing what he was up against.

A massive northern army, at least 40,000 strong, was arrayed on the land before Ashemark. Men at arms, archers, and horsemen standing in front of a line of mammoths being ridden by giants.

"Gods, what did I do to deserve this" Daemon muttered to the heavens as he felt himself soil his armor.

Down on the field, Rodrik Forrester turned his head towards the children of the forest who were accompanying their invasion force south. Their eyes had returned to their normal color as they brought their spell, and the resulting fog, to an end. One of them turned to meet his gaze, smiling at him. "Alright, the people inside are completely isolated."

Rodrik turned towards the nearest giant and motioned for them to approach. Once the giant had reached the front lines, Rodrik hoisted one of the children into their hands. The child was carrying an offer of surrender to the people of Ashemark, which Lord Marband had until sundown to accept. If Lord Marband didn't comply, the city would be besieged. Rodrik found himself looking up at the sky as the giant walked towards the walls, wondering if his former king was watching from the heavens. Robb Stark had meant for him to lead the charge into the lannister's homeland during his own invasion. Now, he was doing so for King Jaehaerys. "We will finish what you started, my king" he said under his breath. "I promise you."

 **Kingslanding**

Jaime Lannister strode towards the throne room after receiving news that a message had arrived from the westerlands, expecting yet another splitting headache to come from what he just knew was bad news. His father had been relying on him to assist with matters of state much more since Tyrion disappeared. Why he was doing so Jaime couldn't say since his father knew he had no mind for governing. Tyrion was always the one who excelled at statecraft. If he really had defected, as Cersei was convinced he had, than that was yet another advantage the newly reinvigorated north had.

The past few months had been utterly insane. The riots in the city that saw his father getting scarred across his face, the rumors that the tyrells were secretly negotiating with the northern kingdom that he'd been forced to investigate, Cersei and Joffrey's temper tantrums at the new targaryen and his actions against them, and just a week ago he had walked into the throne room to see his father beating Joffrey. Cersei screeched and lunged at Tywin, only to be thrown to the ground.

 _"HAVE YOU GONE MAD" his sister and lover shouted. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO YOUR OWN GRANDSON?!"_

 _"Joffrey made one of the most idiotic moves he could have possibly made. He provoked the northern Targaryen by trying to assassinate him."_

 _"At least I actually did something" Joffrey responded. "All you do is try to out purchase food, as if that will accomplish anythin . You're such a coward you won't face that Targaryen bastard."_

 _Tywin responded by once more hitting his grandson. "He threatened to kill us all if we tried something like that. We can't confront the dragon until our new weapons are in the city." The ballistae he was referring to were still a week away from being delivered to the capitol. "But not only did you fail to kill the Targaryen, your attempt on his life killed someone close to him as well as killed Stannis."_

 _"That's a good thing" Cersei said as she picked herself off the floor. "Now we have one less rival to contend with."_

 _"No, because Stannis' family had been present. Varys' little birds say that his widow has declared for the Targaryen. Now he has the north, riverlands, stormlands and dragonstone under his rule."_

Tywin's mood improved somewhat this morning. The weapons had arrived from the citadel, which had only stressed Jaime out more. When Qybern had first suggested the use of wildfire, Jaime had immediately had a flashback of the mad king's plan for the city. Now the city had three weapons that could potentially backfire and explode causing massive civilian causalities. Jaime couldn't tell whether the city was better off under his son and father or this Jaehaerys.

Jaehaerys. The last remaining son of Rhaegar. Jaime hadn't felt so... lost in his life, not even when he lost his sword hand. He had gotten along great with Rhaegar, had wanted him to become king so Aerys couldn't hurt anyone else, only for that to come crashing down when Rhaegar was killed by Robert Baratheon. Jaime pretty much lost all hope in a better future for the continent when he learned Rhaegar was dead. Than the sacking of kings landing had seen Rhaegar's children murdered. Jaime had promised Rhaegar he'd protect his family, and he failed because he underestimated his father. Now, after all these years he learned Rhaegar had a third child, only for that child to be more like Aerys. Actually, the child may be worse than Aerys because he had a dragon. He couldn't fight for this child after what happened at the twins, but he felt like he was letting Rhaegar down yet again by siding against his last remaining family. His turmoil was so hard that he was starting to adopt Tyrion's habit of drinking multiple pitchers of wine per day.

Jaime entered the throne room to find his father looking furiously at a scroll that he could only guess was delivered today. When Tywin noticed him, he approached and passed him the scroll. Jaime saw it was a message from Casterly Rock. As he read its contents, he felt what little confidence he had in his family's chances of winning plummet: the northern army had forced Ashemark to surrender.

"Well, that's yet

 **Dorne**

Arianne stood before her father, brothers, uncle and cousins in Sunspear's throne room. She had returned home a few days ago, just barely missing a fleet of lannister patrol ships as she passed through the bay to kings landing. Apparently the lannisters found out that she was in the north and attempted to intercept her so she could be a hostage to keep her kingdom in line. Luckily her ship had gotten past the bay before the lannister forces could get into formation.

"So Arianne" Quentyn addressed her. "What did you think of this king in the north? Is he really the embodiment of our aunt's dishonor? Could he be a potential ally? Did you even let him talk or did you just try to bed him your whole visit?"

The questions her brother asked caused the three present sand snakes to snicker. Arianne shot her brother an annoyed look before turning back to her father. "Well father, I can say this king in the north is indeed the son of Lyanna Stark."

"So he is the son of the she-wolf" Oberyn said. "Did you learn what he meant when his ultimatum mentioned Elia being kept by Rhaegar?"

"Yes uncle. I know this will sound strange, but the last dragon didn't walk out on Aunt Elia. She actually was the one who encouraged Rhaegar to pursue Lady Stark."

"What" Nymeria exclaimed. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, have you heard the legends of the children of the forest?"

"What does that have to do with anything" Tyene asked.

"They aren't legends cousin, that's what. King Jaehaerys has a small council made up of at least three of them."

Her family looked surprised at her words. "Ok" her father said after a moment. "But what do they have to do with your aunt?"

"Well father, it's not just the children who exist. All the stories about their powers are true as well. They can look into the past and see events that happened. I saw aunt Elia at Rhaegar and Lyanna's wedding when one of them showed me the past."

Her family once again was silent for a moment. Arianne decided to continue explaining. "This Jaehaerys, or Jon as he prefers to be called, was told who he really was by the children. They sought him out to tell him about his heritage and are the ones who encouraged him to pursue the iron throne."

"Why would these children do that" Trystane asked. "I mean, they aren't human. Why would they care about someone sitting on a human throne?"

"There is so much more going on right now brother than just this war. But I'll explain that later. Apparently aunt Elia was physically unable to have any more children after she gave birth to Aegon. Part of Rhaegar's motivation for pursuing the Stark girl was because he felt it was important that he have a third child, and he wasn't going to risk Elia dying. Now, he also had genuine love for the other girl as well, but Elia was fine with that. She was truly on good terms with her co-wife."

"So her death truly was for nothing" Oberyn bitterly said.

"Jon is determined to avenge her, uncle. He's just as angry about her death as he is about my cousins and his adoptive brother."

"What about the man himself" her father inquired. "Does he seem like the kind of person that will follow in his father's footsteps or his grandfather's?"

"Well father, Jon seems like the kind of person who could outdo Rhaegar in being loved by the people. He is always looking out for their interests ahead of his own. The reason he didn't immediately attack the south when he learned what happened to the Starks was because he was concerned the people of the north would react poorly to the wildlings that he brought south. He has spent the last few months settling the wildlings as well as tending to any problems that arose between his two peoples."

"How does this match up with what he did to the freys" Obara asked. Arianne laughed briefly.

"Jon pulled off an incredible deception. He faked killing the civilians at the twins to scare the lannisters into not striking first. Instead he had them imprisoned in the north."

Of course, the information that the great manipulator Tywin had been bluffed set off a course of laughter throughout the room.

Arianne spent the next half hour explaining her visit to the north and what she learned. She told them more about the romance between Rhaegar and Lyanna, her personal interactions with the king (she was once more annoyed when Quentyn inquired whether she had seduced him), the failed assassination attempt that killed both Jon's lover and Stannis, and how the children of the forest were using their greenseeing to communicate to each other as they split up to help Jon's invasion south. By the time she was at White Harbor to return home, the army that was to invade the lannister homeland was already on its way south led by Rodrik Forrester. Jon was also flying his dragon south to the island of dragonstone with the remaining baratheons to rally the forces there and in the stormlands as well as meet his aunt Daenerys and her forces, who according to the children were approaching the island.

Upon finishing her story, her family was silent once more for some time. Than her father got a determined look on his face. "Well, we've been waiting twenty years for this. Send the ravens to all the bannermen. Dorne is going to war with the lannisters."

Oberyn had an extremely excited look on his face. "With pleasure, brother."

As the family dispersed to help make preparations, Arianne was once more approached by Quentyn. "So seriously, did you bed this king in the north or not?"

The next time Doran Martell saw his eldest son, he had a black eye courtesy of his sister.

 **Jon and Daenerys will meet next time. We'll also get a look from Leaf's point of view.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi all. Sorry for the wait. It was the result of writer's block and real life issues (including a car accident).**

Jon sat on the throne that was in the entrance hall of Dragonstone waiting for Daenerys and her entourage to arrive. They had reached the island a week ago and begun preparing the keep for his aunt and her forces. He was hoping for a peaceful meeting, and decided that a welcoming meal would help. Therefore he asked the staff to begin preparing a feast. Blizzard was forced to go looking for giant fish and squid near the ocean's surface since they needed to focus their resources on this, and also because there was nothing else on the island that could satisfy his hunger. Luckily the rest of them weren't so ravenous, not even the direwolves.

Jon wasn't sure what would happen when Daenerys brought her dragons to westeros. He supposed the herds of mammoths the free folk and giants brought with them would satisfy them, though he did worry how many mammoths would satisfy the dragons in one sitting and the basis of when they'd be needed. He also dreaded a confrontation between their respective dragons. According to the three eyed raven, ice dragons and fire drakes had never encountered each other before; they lived in different parts of the world and none ventured so far away from their home continents until the Targaryens brought fire drakes with them to dragonstone (by which time the rest of the ice dragons had long since died out). Yes, his dragon was three times bigger than any one of Daenerys', but hers were faster and there were more of them. He had no interest in seeing another dance of dragons, and he was sure the rest of westeros didn't want that either.

Earlier that morning, Leaf had approached him and said Daenerys' fleet was about to reach the island. Sure enough, little over an hour later the ships were spotted on the eastern horizon. Jon had wanted to go down to the beach to greet his aunt in person, but Davos and his other advisors felt it would be more appropriate if he initially did so from a throne. He decided to heed their advice and wait for Daenerys to come to him.

His attention was drawn towards the main doors as he heard them open, and in walked Daenerys Targaryen flanked by her guards and a young woman whom he remembered from his visions as Missandei. Jon was silently stunned by Daenerys' looks (she was far more beautiful in person) before a sense of shame came over him. He had just lost Ygritte, how could he turn his attention to another woman so soon? Yes, Ygritte would want him to be happy, but still...

"Do I have the privilege of speaking to my nephew Jaehaerys Targaryen, son of Rhaegar and Lyanna" Daenerys asked.

"You do" he replied as he rose from his throne and approached."No need to introduce yourself your grace. I already know of you and your accomplishments." He took her hand in his and, as a sign of courtesy, kissed it (though he once more felt shame wash over him). "Welcome home."

"Thank you your grace" she replied with a slight blush. "It is good to finally be home."

Jon smiled; so far so good. "If I may ask, what has become of the former slave cities now that you decided to leave?"

"Well, I informed the former masters that I would be back if I learned they tried to reassert the old ways in my absence. If I am forced to return, I will put all of them to death in the most agonizing way possible. I also stopped by Volantis and told its rulers that if they tried anything my dragons would return their city to the debris that was used to build it in the first place, along with all of them."

An apprehensive look appeared on Jon's face. "I... Daenerys, I understand the necessity of drastic and ruthless actions at times, but wiping out cities..."

"I wouldn't hurt the innocents. Like you did at the twins I would separate the innocents from the ones who ordered the crimes."

"How did..."

"The children who accompanied Melisandre informed me of your actions. I understand the difference between necessary action and needless cruelty. I am not my father."

Jon felt a sense of relief. "I'm glad to hear that. Now, I have had a special meal prepared for you and your companions. We may discuss any issues during dinner, or we can do so now if you wish."

"Thank you Jaehaerys, or Jon. I'm sorry, I forgot you prefer your shorter name."

"It's no problem."

"Well, I think after that journey across the sea my army would like a chance to rest on dry land. I would like to see to their settling on dragonstone before I sit down to eat. We can talk then."

"Very well, the hospitality of the island is yours."

Off to the side, Arya smiled to herself as she watched the meeting between her brother and the mother of dragons. She could tell a few things had just happened; one was they had both been testing the other to see how they'd react in turn. Another was they were both silently relieved at this start. Third, her brother was silently smitten with the young queen. It seemed like valyarians had a natural attraction to each other.

* * *

A week later, Jon and Daenerys were standing on a veranda looking out on the Unsullied and a small company of northern troops train in the courtyard of Dragonstone's keep. Their respective forces were working quite well together. Translators were on hand for the northerners so they could understand their new allies from Essos. On the roof of the keep, Drogon sat staring out beyond the keep to where Blizzard was dragging a giant squid he killed onto the island. Although there was some slight tension between the dragons when first introduced, he and his brothers had gotten along fine with their counterpart (judging from the fact that they didn't attack each other). However, all three went ballistic when Jon tried to introduce Daenerys to Blizzard away from them. It was like they thought the ice dragon would attack their mother if given a chance. So for now, Jon and Daenerys decided that she would stay away from Blizzard until the dragons all got used to each other more. Meanwhile, at least one of Daenerys' dragons seemed to be keeping an eye on the ice dragon at all times, like Drogon was doing at the moment.

"Well, our forces seem to be getting along well enough" Daenerys commented.

Jon turned towards her with a smile on his face. "Indeed. I'm just glad that the dragons didn't try to kill each other."

Daenerys smiled back at him. "How long until your army in the westerlands reaches Casterly Rock?"

"According to the children, another few days." Jon had decided on waiting to attack until Rodrick had begun laying siege to the lannisters' capital city before flying to king's landing. His plan was to hopefully draw some of Tywin's forces away from the city to defend the westerlands, leaving the red keep more exposed to attack. It also helped that the forces of Dorne had recently linked up with the remaining forces of the late stannis and were engaging Tywin's forces in the Stormlands. To cap it all off, Jon had secretly arranged for Olenna Tyrell and her forces in king's landing to secure the wildfire weapons Tywin had so they didn't need to worry about their dragons getting killed. Jon had made sure to completely isolate Tywin and his grandson before moving in.

"I'm really impressed Jon. You handle military matters like no one else in all of known history."

"Well, I can't really take credit for that. I can counter Tywin's strategies because of the children's greenseeing. If it weren't for them I wouldn't..."

"You are still the one carrying out this campaign" Daenerys interrupted. "Our enemies don't stand a chance with you leading the military. Tywin is already defeated, and the white walkers won't stand a chance."

"Careful, those monsters are unlike anything else we faced, and they will get stronger when the long night returns. We can't underestimate them. That was the children's mistake."

They stood in silence for a while after that. Daenerys finally spoke up once more. "Jon, I need to tell you something. I think it would be wise if I led the attack from the front instead of you. I know you are the more experienced commander, but you are also the only hope our family has to continue. I'm more expendable than you."

"WHAT?! How can you say that?!"

"It's true" Daenerys said as a tear formed in her right eye. "I lost any chance of continuing our line. I can't have children anymore."

"What makes you think that?"

"You remember I told you that a witch murdered Drogo. Well, she also put a curse on me. I can no longer have children."

Jon was stunned for a few seconds before he took her hands in his. "It sounds to me like you just took that person's word for it. Did it occur to you that they weren't an unbiased source?"

Daenerys didn't reply, she just stared at their entwined hands. Finally she looked up at him. "No, that hadn't occured to me."

They smiled at each other as they continued to hold hands. They had grown much closer in the time they spent on the island. Soon they started to lean towards each other. But just as their lips were inches away, Jon pulled away with a sad look on his face. "Dany, I... I can't just yet. I just lost Ygritte a short while ago. I need more time."

Daenerys also looked sad , though she also understood. "I know how it feels to lose someone you love."

Jon let go of her hands and departed a short time later. Daenerys continued to stare out at the army training. She thought she was alone until someone spoke up. "He really is growing to love you." Daenerys turned around to see Tyrion, Jon's dwarf friend, standing at the door to the inside. "I just hope your romance doesn't end like the last king in the north's romance."

"Well, once your father is out of the way, I think..." Daenerys stopped as she realized who she was talking to. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. He treated me poorly my entire life. I won't really cry for him."

 **Later that night**

 _"You know nothing, Jaehaerys Targaryen."_

 _Jon turned to see Ygritte. "Ygritte. I... this is a dream."_

 _"True" she responded, "but I am not."_

 _"What does that mean?"_

 _"I'm here in spirit. You really do know nothing."_

 _Jon laughed slightly. "Well, what are you doing here?"_

 _"I'm here to help you make peace with what happened to me."_

 _Jon felt a wave of sadness wash over him. "Ygritte, I don't blame myself for your..." _ _ _"I'm talking about you not letting go. Jon, I will always love you and I know you will always feel the same. But you know I'm gone from the world. I'm fine with you pursuing the targaryen queen."____

 _ _ _ _If he wasn't dreaming, Jon was sure he'd be crying. "Ygr..."____

 _ _ _ _"Don't start with the excuses! You need to marry to continue your family line. It's not like your southern houses didn't wed relatives in the past. There, I disarmed all your reasons."____

 _ _ _ _Jon was stunned for a moment. "Ygritte, I don't want to betray your memory."____

 _ _ _ _Ygritte stepped closer and kissed him. "Jon, I told you I'm fine with you pursuing another woman. We knew it couldn't last and you would need to put me aside. My death just made it happen sooner. You need to get past my death."____

 _ _ _ _Jon embraced Ygritte and kissed her one last time. "I know. I will always love you Ygritte."____

 _ _ _ _Ygritte smiled and began to fade from the dream. "We'll see each other again your kneelership, but it better not be for a long time. You have a life to live."____

* * *

 **Following Morning**

Leaf placed her new short sword down against a rock before sitting down on the beach of the island the humans called Dragonstone. This place held such a sacred meaning to her people since it was the main source of dragonglass on the continent. For as long as her people could remember this island was the source of the material they used for their primary melee weapons. But dragonglass was also used because of its natural magical properties: it was fire in solid form. This made it a channeling point for all the spells her people used outside of their greenseeing, and it was why they held it in such importance.

"Leaf."

Leaf turned her head to see Arya Stark coming up to her. She smiled at the young girl as she sat down on the beach next to her. "Hello Arya. Did you enjoy watching us train earlier?"

"Absolutely. You make knights like Lady Brienne and Jaime Lannister look like kids when you fight. With skills like yours', how did my ancestors push you back so strongly?"

"Well, it helps that when they first showed up in westeros our kind was not particularly good at melee fighting. We relied more on our magic for defense at the time. We adopted melee fighting after destroying what you call the arm of Dorne. Also, your ancestors had greater numbers than my own did, as well as other advantages."

"I wish it were possible for me to fight like you do."

Leaf smiled sympathetically at her friend. Unfortunately for Arya, part of the reason her people fought the way they did was because of their magic. In battle, the children called upon their magic to perform feats that they normally couldn't do. Arya didn't have that, so she couldn't fight like them.

"Just because you can't fight like us or knights doesn't make you helpless or weak. If I recall correctly you were training in something called water dancing. That fighting style, from what I've seen of it, allows you to use your smaller size to your advantage."

Arya smiled. "Thanks Leaf. It's nice to meet others who don't think I'm incapable of fighting in a battle."

"What about your brother?"

"He doesn't count. He's family."

The two friends shared a heartfelt laugh for a moment.

Leaf glanced at the sword she had beside her. After coming south of the wall, she and her remaining people requested from Jon that they be armed with weapons that humans made and wielded, weapons forged from iron and steel. While he and other humans had been skeptical that they could use them, Leaf had insisted that shorter weapons would work for them. Once humanity's king agreed, some of winterfell's smiths were put to work and by the time the northern kingdom was ready to invade the southern ones loyal to the king's enemies the children were armed with weapons of steel. Now they were ready to start retraining in melee combat.

When men first came to westeros, their superior technology was one of the key reasons to their success against her people. Men had superior weapons and numbers as well as horses. Her people, on the other hand, had daggers of dragonglass and their magic. For all its usefulness in the magic her people used, dragonglass was extremely brittle compared to weapons made of bronze and other metals. If her people knew how to make weapons from metal like humans did, Leaf felt like her ancestors would have forced men out of westeros. Now times had changed: her people were fighting alongside humans against other humans, and soon against the monsters they had unleashed.

Leaf stiffened as she remembered the white walkers. Once more, she found herself remembering what happened when they first broke free.

 _Leaf could hardly see in front of her, the snow was falling that fast and thick. The rest of her scouting party had already disappeared into it, and for some reason her greenseeing wasn't able to locate them. Even if they were dead, Leaf should be able to use her powers to see her friends. She could only guess the reason for this was the source of these strange snowstorms._

 _Less than a year ago, the winter season had arrived and it was harsher than any in their memory. Of course, that didn't matter since her kind was immune to the temperature of the earth, no matter the extreme. But recently the weather started to get much harsher, and this was a problem for the humans that she and her people were now friends with. So Leaf and a select few others were summoned by their high priests and asked to go into the lands of always winter to investigate what was behind the unusually harsh snowstorms._

 _She pressed on, knowing that she had to keep heading north to locate the source of this unnatural disturbance. This..._

 _Leaf stopped as her foot hit something. Looking down, she saw a dragonglass blade that one of her friends had been carrying. If this was here, someone in her party must be close by. "Hello" she called out. No answer came. She walked a few more meters, and finally saw a different color in the seemingly endless haze of snow. It was red, and it was too high to be on the ground. She felt excitement as she realized it was the leaf of a weirwood tree. Leaf rushed towards it, hoping to use the tree as a focus so she could locate her friends with her greenseeing._

 _As she got closer however, she saw what appeared to be figures slouched against the trunk. They looked like... "NOOOOOOOO!" Leaf cried out as she finally saw that the figures were members of her scout party. She rushed forward and fell to her knees in the snow beside her friends' bodies. They had numerous gash marks and their limbs were broken as if something had crumpled them. Leaf cried as she cradled one of her people in her arms._

 _"Well" a voice called out, drawing her attention. "I did not expect to see you here." A figure was emerging from the snowstorm, and as they got closer Leaf saw that it was one of the white walkers. No, it was the night king, the one she had helped create. "My ally" she called out. "What did this to our friends?"_

 _The night king was now standing right next to her, looking down with a strange look, like he had cornered an animal he was hunting. "Well, I can assure you they were not my friends, child."_

 _Leaf noticed that more white walkers were nearing them. What was going on? The white walkers were their creations. They shouldn't seem elated at the death of one of her people. "Night king, what is going on? What killed my friends?"_

 _The night king threw his head back and let out a chilling laugh, one that caused Leaf to shudder in fear. "I did." Leaf didn't have time to react before he grabbed her and began to beat her. The other walkers laughed as she was increasingly hurt by one she used to call ally. Finally, the night king released her, and she fell into the snow. Turning her gaze at her tormentor, Leaf had a look of rage on her face. "HOW?! WHY?!"_

 _"The winter has allowed us to break free" the night king responded. "Every winter season that passes has grown harsher, and that has allowed us to grow stronger, strong enough to break free of the control you monsters had on us." He stomped down on her back, flattening her against the ground. "Now that we are free, we intend to take the lands that rightfully belongs to us, as well as punish the ones who tore us from our old lives."_

 _"Rightfully?! This was OUR home before you humans invaded."_

 _"You and your kind are abominations, monsters that are unworthy of this earth. You tore us from all that we knew to be your slave defenders. Now you shall suffer for your crimes." The night king kicked her, causing her to roll onto her back. He stared at her with a triumphant look on his face._

 _"Once I finish you, I'll move on to the rest of westeros, children and human alike."_

 _The humans?! Leaf felt more horrified than ever before. "No" she said as she rolled over and struggled to get to her feet. "You can't punish your own people for what we did to you."_

 _"They stopped being my people the moment they agreed to peace with you wretched monsters."_

 _"You would punish them simply because they wanted to stop fighting?!"_

 _The look on the night king's face changed to one of confusion. "Why would you..." He stopped, and slowly his face got a look of sick delight. "You have come to care about my treacherous old kind."_

 _Leaf was barely on her feet again when the night king lifted her off the ground by her neck. He brought her to the base of the nearest weirwood tree and roughly slammed her against the trunk. Two of the other white walkers approached and placed their hands on her. Suddenly ice started to form on her legs and spread to the trunk. Unlike the world's temperature, this ice brought a searing pain with it as it contacted her flesh. She screamed in agony as the ice froze her to her people's most sacred connection to the gods. The white walkers continued to cause the ice to spread until she was frozen from the chest down._

 _"What is this" she asked._

 _"You care about humans now" the night king said. "Good, than you can experience their deaths, ALL OF THEM!" He grabbed her head, and suddenly Leaf was linked to all the weirwoods in the land. She saw humans in all lifestyles going about their lives as the winter weather started to worsen. Than white walkers entered the visions, descending on villages and cities alike._

 _Leaf cried out in dismay as the creatures her people created mercilessly slaughtered men, women and children, even the babies that mothers tried to shield. Some experienced a swift death while others suffered far more torturous ends._

 _"You are now linked to all of this land" she heard the night king speak into her mind. "You will watch as we destroy all traces of those you hold dear. Only then will I return to put an end to you. Watch what you and the rest of your kind brought upon this world."_

 _The agony continued so long Leaf lost track of how long she was stuck to the tree. When others of her people found her and freed her, she was right on the edge of insanity from what she had seen._

Tears flowed down her cheeks as the memories faded. Her kind created the white walkers as a means to defend themselves against the first men. Once the war was over, her people couldn't bring themselves to destroy their allies, so they sent them further north hoping they would not be needed again. Had she known what she had unleashed...

"LEAF!"

Leaf was pulled out of her brooding as Arya shouted at her. "Sorry Arya. I was... lost in thought."

"You brood more than my brother. What's wrong?"

"I... well, you know about the others? You remember how we were the ones who created them."}

"Yes I... wait, you can't go blaming yourself for what they did."

"We're at fault Arya. I'm at fault."

"No you aren't. Yes, you turned some humans into monsters, but it was to defend yourselves in a time of war."

"But now they rampage across the continent. Once they broke free..."

"EXACTLY" a voice interrupted from behind. Leaf and Arya jumped in surprise before turning to see Jon. "Once they broke free, you and your kind were absolved of their actions. You are no longer controlling them, and you didn't know what would happen when you sent them north."

"I was telling myself that for the last 8000 years, Jon. It hasn't gotten any easier."

Jon walked forward and knelt down to embrace his friend. "Leaf, for one so wise you can be incredibly dense at times. Yes, you created the others. But as I said, their actions are their own now. You are not to blame for the destruction they caused since the long night. To me, it's no different to what happened between Theon and Robb. Theon's choosing his own father's ambitions over Robb may have forced my brother's hand in the Freys' direction, but he did not kill Robb or order it. He is not to blame, and neither are you."

Leaf returned Jon's hug as she felt more tears flow from her eyes. "You're too good for my kind to advise."

Jon stood back up. "Leaf, you are helping to stop those monsters now, and I wouldn't be this far without you or the three eyed raven. You will always have a place at my side."

Jon headed back to the keep soon after this, leaving Arya and Leaf on the beach. Leaf turned to her friend once the true king was no longer in sight. "If I were human, the mother of dragons would have some SERIOUS competition for your brother."

A short time later, Leaf entered the cave her people got the dragonglass from. She heard the sound of mining going on further inside. All she needed was shard. Picking up a discarded piece of the precious metal, she channeled her greenseeing into it. She saw her old enemy in the far north, in a rage that the freefolk had escaped south of the wall. _I should have killed you when I had the chance Leaf!_ "Funny" she thought. "I think the same thing about you every day my whole life."

* * *

Another week later, Jon finished strapping the harness onto blizzard as he saw the fog form all across the sea. He learned earlier that day that his army was now laying siege to the westerlands' capital. It was now time. Leaf and the other children on the island had cast the spell their friends used to aid the invasion of the westerlands. The ludicrously thick fog had rolled across the bay and would reach King's Landing soon.

Jon turned to the entourage gathered before him: Ser Davos, Arya, Daenerys and Tyrion were there for final blessings before they departed to end the war with Tywin and his family.

"Well, this is it" he said. "The war for westeros' throne will end soon. I want to thank you all for your help in this. With your aid, Tywin's defeat is imminent. All that's left is the final attack."

"I wish you luck your grace" ser davos said.

Arya jumped into Jon's arms and hugged him before kissing her brother's cheek. "Good Luck."

"You too" Jon replied. "Stay safe on your mission."

Jon lowered his sister and turned to Daenerys. There was an odd look on her face as he stood right in front of her. Jon was about to ask if something was wrong when Daenerys did something that caught them all off guard: she threw herself forward and kissed Jon full on the mouth. After about a minute, they broke apart. "I know you said you need more time, but this was just in case we don't see each other again. I also wish you luck."

Jon held her in his arms a little longer before stepping back and smiling. "I intend to survive this, and you need to as well."

Jon than approached Tyrion. His friend looked up with an amused look on his face. "I'm not going to kiss you Jon." The entire group started laughing at Tyrion's remark. "Though I do wish you luck as well."

Soon after, Jon, Arya, Leaf and the warriors picked to accompany them mounted blizzard while Daenerys mounted one of her dragons. With a roar of excitement, the dragons took to the air as the fleet set sail for the capital.

 **I made tyrion come south for that one line he said at the end.**

 **Ok, so Jon is now allied with Daenerys. Also, in case it wasn't clear, Leaf is helping Jon and Daenerys because she feels she needs to redeem herself. She blames herself for all the death and destruction the white walkers caused since they freed themselves.**

 **Next time, the lannisters come face to face with the rider of the northern dragon. You'll also see the children of the forest fight.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I am so sorry you all had to wait more than two months. I was stuck for ideas while also trying to figure out how to write a fight scene (first attempt). Hopefully the length of this chapter makes up for the long wait.**

 **One thousand points to the first person to identify the homage I made to starcraft II in this chapter (you need to mention it in a review).**

Rodrick Forrester gazed up at the walls of Casterly Rock, the lannisters' seat of power in the westerlands. While not the most impressive fortifications he had seen, it was a slight eye-opener. Plus, it was certainly a formidable defense since it managed to repel all attackers since it was founded. But it also had never faced an army that was reinforced by giants and mammoths. Rodrick smiled to himself: he wouldn't underestimate his opponent, but the odds of failing seemed extremely long. He was certain this so called impenetrable city would fall before the new northern army, either through force or surrender. Honestly, he hoped the enemy would see reason and surrender so all on both sides could go home to their families. The commander at Ashemark had done so and his men were all spared a blood bath.

"I will admit, you kneelers are certainly skilled at building" a gruff voice came from the side. Rodrick turned to see Tormund Giantsbane, the 'free-folk' commander accompanying him.

"Well, we are all 'kneelers' now, aren't we Tormund?"

"I suppose you got a point there." Tormund glanced down at himself and fidgeted a little. "How do you wear these suits?"

Rodrick could tell his new friend was a little uncomfortable dressed in the heavy armor he was wearing, especially since he was used to the frigid cold of the lands beyond the wall. "Well, it helps that we grew up using them. We also try to dress lighter prior to putting them on."

"I kinda wish I was back in the north with Rayder."

"He stayed back north because he's helping keep the peace between our two peoples while the king is fighting here in the south."

"Yeah, I know. Speaking of, I wonder how he and the others are doing. I mean, I'm not worried. He has a dragon to keep him safe. But what is he doing right now?"

"I spoke to the children earlier and they said the forces he led to the island have sailed for the capitol, and they are joined by the forces of the king's aunt."

"Perfect" Tormund responded. " The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can focus on the real threat."

"Yes, but first we have to make it through this."

"Oh, I won't be dying today. I got someone waiting for me."

Rodrick cast an amused look at Tormund. "I don't think Brienne of Tarth is too eager to see you again." Brienne of Tarth had come to Winterfell to see if Lady Stark's daughters were indeed safe, and decided to accept King Jaehaerys' offer of a position in his kingsguard (which had tragically opened when Ygritte was killed). When Tormund met the lady knight, he was almost instantly smitten with her. He tried asking lady Sansa how he could best approach her, as the traditional method for him was to kidnap a woman he liked. Unfortunately, he seemed to take Sansa's advice of being honest too literally as he had outright told Brienne that he wanted to make babies with her, which had the opposite affect Tormund was hoping for.

"Well, I'm a persistant bastard. One day, I'll win her heart. Just you wait."

The two friends shared a genuine laugh as they set off for the front lines. Upon reaching the forward positions, Rodrick was greeted by several of his lieutenants as well as the lead members of the children who accompanied the army south. They reported that the lannister forces had responded to their offer of surrender with a refusal. Rodrick sighed in resignation: it always seemed like men preferred to spill blood and cause more pain when a simple surrender could save so many lives.

"Alright. It appears we need to finish this the hard way."

"I was kind of hoping we would sir" one of his lieutenants said.

Rodrick ignored the comment and turned to face the walls once more. "Inform the giants to bring their shielded ram forward. Have our forces stay out of range of their archers until the gate is down."

* * *

Up on the walls of Casterly Rock, Kevan lannister looked down on the enemy army gathered outside his home. While many of his men were terrified, he was actually filled with confidence. While the northern forces may outnumber the forces garrisoning the stronghold, the rock had never fallen to any enemy in history and he had no intention of seeing that happen now. Both he and his brother Tywin would not accept a surrender offer from an enemy at their gates: they considered it a direct insult to the lannister name to attack the rock, to actually test if they could defend their home and power base. The only thing that could have persuaded him to surrender would be the dragon that the entire continent was talking about, and it was not present. Yes, there were strange creatures among the northern army that reminded him of elephants (he could only guess these were mammoths) but that was of little consequence: those animals couldn't be used in a direct attack on the city walls, and if the northern commander tried his archers would merely panic them by shooting them with flaming arrows. That worked on elephants in essos and he had little doubt it would work here.

"Sir, what is that" one of his soldiers asked.

Kevan looked to where the soldier was pointing and saw... well, he didn't know what that was. Two mammoths were pulling what looked like a giant wooden box. As it got closer, he could see what looked like doors on the front. The mammoths pulled the item to the front of the northern lines and stopped. Riders (who were too small for him to see from this distance) detached the ropes used to pull the giant structure and the mammoths withdrew. Then, the northern structure started moving closer to the gates of the rock. There must be people inside it pushing it onward.

"I don't know what that thing is" Kevan said to his men. "But I don't care also. Use flaming arrows and burn that thing."

His archers ignited the tips of their arrows and a hail of small fireballs started to rain down on the structure. The structure would go up in flame...or it should have. The flames went out mere seconds after hitting their target. What sort of magic was this? Wait... " Kevan said. The northern house Forrester was among the enemy army. "Ironwood. That thing is made our of ironwood." Ironwood was said to only burn under circumstances known to the Forresters. Fire was useless now. As the structure came within a few yards of the walls, the doors on the front of it opened to show a large cylinder hanging from the inner roof. Kevan's heart skipped a beat when he realized what this structure was: a battering ram. "ALL FORCES TO THE FRONT GATES!"

Kevan rushed towards the gates, at some point wading through the giant crowd of soldiers accompanying him. By the time they had reached the gate, it had already come under attack. He could see the ram through the bars of the gate, swinging back and forth as the unseen operators continued to hammer away. He managed to get his men into a shield wall formation before he heard the metal of the gate start to crunch, the gate getting knocked further out of place.

"HOLD FAST!" Kevan shouted. "YOU ARE MEN OF HOUSE LANNISTER! NO MATTER WHO OR WHAT COMES THROUGH THAT GATE, WE WILL THROW THEM BACK!"

Seconds later, there was a loud crash as the ram knocked the gate out of place, sending the giant metal structure flying over his formation. There was a moment of silence where nothing came through. Then, light started to come through the end of the ironwood structure as another set of doors opened. What the light showed was operating the ram shook Kevan to his core: giants.

With a chorus of roars, the giants charged into the rock, wielding tree-trunk thick clubs at his men. The clubs were swung into the shield walls, sending men flying into the air. The spears his army had put forward were useless to them now. Suddenly, a few of his men fell directly on top of Kevan, knocking him down. He managed to lift his head and noticed through the ironwood ram that the northern army was charging towards the gates, with what appeared to be more giants with them.

A shadow fell over Kevan, causing him to look up. He let out a terrified cry as a giant's foot came down on him.

* * *

 **Kings Landing**

Daenerys held tightly onto Drogon as they flew through the fog. She could only see the outlets of her other two dragons as well as Jon's, the children's spell keeping sight to a minimum. If she didn't know their combined fleet was sailing underneath them, she wouldn't know they were there. Luckily the children were with each group so they could guide their forces accurately. They would soon reach the capitol and put an end to this war.

"Your grace" the child sitting behind her said. "We have reached king's landing, The spell will dissipate in a few more seconds."

Indeed, the fog started to fade, and she could see the city. She also saw the lannister's fleet guarding the harbor. Jon's dragon descended towards the ocean, and Daenerys had Drogon and the others follow. Straightening out mere feet from the surface, the dragons each let out a roar as they approached the enemy fleet.

"Dracarys!"

Drogon and her dragons released their dragonfire, and the front line of ships went up in flames. Drogon turned upwards and let out another attack from the air, raining fire down upon more lannister ships. The smell of wood smoke filled the air as the dragons incinerated ship after ship. She also heard the screams of the lannister men on the ships as they were either caught in the fires or knocked off the ships and into the ocean. She noticed that Jon was leading his mount to attack certain ships in the enemy fleet. She guessed these ships were armed with ballistae meant to hurt their dragons. The ones with wildfire were stationed in the city, and according to Jon the Tyrell men had secured them to ensure they couldn't hurt any of their dragons or any smallfolk that were in the city.

Daenerys turned to see their fleet closing in on the remaining lannister ships. Her unsullied would reach the city first, and Jon's men would support them once their ships landed. A roar drew her attention in the direction of Jon's dragon, and she saw it fly off towards the red keep. She smiled at the sight: Jon was heading straight for Tywin. This was the plan.

"Alright" she said to herself. "Let's finish this war here and now."

* * *

Inside the red keep, Jaime raced through the halls as fast as he could. He should have figured this fog that had rolled into king's landing would be used to mask the enemy fleet. He had been standing on the battlements when the fog cleared, his relief turning to horror as he saw the _four_ dragons emerge at the head of a massive invasion fleet. He had noticed the closest ships had the standard targaryen symbol of the three-headed dragon on them while ships flying the northern flag were following close behind. He quickly realized that Rhaegar's son must have somehow enlisted the help of his aunt in essos. While in the pit of his gut he knew they stood no chance of winning, Jaime knew he had to make a stand here. He needed to find the other members of his family.

Jaime ran into the throne room to find it in complete turmoil. His fellow kingsguard were standing near the iron throne with Joffrey trying to get him to flee for safety, but his (secret) son was refusing. He knew this refusal had nothing to do with bravery; Joffrey was just too stubborn to let someone else take the throne from him. Smallfolk were practically trampling each other trying to escape, and guards were either rushing in to help protect the king or rushing out to defend the city.

"Ser Meryn" Jaime called out to his (pathetic) fellow kingsguard. "Where is Cersei?!"

"She fled moments ago to try to find her son Tommen."

"Where..."

The pandemonium in the throne room, and Jaime's next question, came to an abrupt halt as a tremor shook the entire red keep, which was followed by falling bricks and stones as the roof fell through. Jaime looked up to see a massive reptilian foot pulling away from the hole it just made. Seconds later, a massive dragon lowered its head into the throne room. Jaime noticed a strange looking structure running up its neck and wondered what it could possibly be for. His answer came when people started sliding down on it, using a rope attached to some part that was out of sight. The first few who reached the floor looked like children at first, but Jaime quickly saw that these weren't human children; they were completely naked, showing their bodies to be a jungle-like green, and their heads looked like they had bushes growing where hair would normally be. Jaime was too stunned to think what these... creatures could possibly be.

They were followed by a group of people who seemed to have gathered from all parts of the known world. He saw both men and women of northern descent as well as essoi and andal. Some were clearly knights while others looked more like mercenaries. He felt himself recoil in shock as he noticed one of the tallest among the intruders numbers was none other than Brienne of Tarth. The look on her face as she noticed him was a mixture of sorrow and scorn, as if she was sorry they were now on opposite sides but upset with him for something. Perhaps she felt he should have gone with Tyrion rather than side with his family.

Jaime's train of thought ended as someone stepped forward. The intruders parted to allow a northerner through, and a feeling of absolute horror came over him as he realized who this must be. Clad in armor that was adorned with a white direwolf on one side of the chestplate and a blue quadruped dragon on the other, this could only be the northern targaryen. The son of Rhaegar had come for his throne at last.

Jon felt a slight sense of amusement as he looked around at the throne room's occupants. He saw southern knights gathered in a line in front of the small set of stairs that led to the iron throne, though they appeared to be struggling to stand their ground. He recognized the kingslayer among the kingsguard gathered before him and sent a angered glare towards him. Yes, Jaime Lannister had saved this city years ago, but that didn't excuse him from punishment for what he did to Bran. There were also some people huddling against the wall, most likely smallfolk who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. His amusement faded as he saw them: his quarrel was with the lannisters, not them.

Finally there was the pathetic mess of a young man who sat on the throne that in reality belonged to himself. Joffrey looked like he was struggling to figure out if he should be angry or terrified. The look on Jon's face became one of mocking smugness as he stared up at the pretender occupying the seat of his father's ancestors. "Hello Joffrey." Jon said, making sure he was loud enough for all in the room to hear. "Unless I'm mistaken, you are sitting in my throne."

The wretched bastard looked furious at this remark. "You dare try to steal my birthright, you bastard?!"

"The only bastard here is you Joffrey, which is ironic when you consider it. We appear to be mirror images of each other, as we both lay claim to the iron throne and both were lied to about who we truly are. The difference, of course, is that I'm actually the rightful king while you are the product of your mother and uncle cuckolding my real father's cousin."

"Not only that," Jon continued before his rival could respond. "I actually did some growing up since we last saw each other. You clearly haven't changed from when Robert Baratheon took you all to Winterfell years ago. You're still the same pathetic spoiled prick you were when you threw that temper tantrum when Robb beat you into the dirt of the training yard."

Joffrey was now completely red in the face, and he only got angrier as he heard someone laughing. He turned to look into the crowd of Jon's companions and noticed Arya Stark was amongst them. "You speak the truth , brother." Arya said. "He's just as cowardly and pathetic as he was all those years ago. You should've seen the look on his face when Nymeria bit him on the way to the capitol."

"GUARDS" Joffrey shouted. "Take the northern bastard and his sister alive! Kill the rest!"

The children of the forest each stepped forward, drawing their short swords from the scabbard's on their backs. "My king" Leaf said. "Let us handle these people. The rest of your allies have orders to carry out."

"You are correct my friend" Jon replied before he turned to his soldiers. "Asher Forrester" he addressed a northerner wearing mercenary armor. "you and your fellow pit fighters are to tear this keep apart until you found all the lannisters here. Remember, I want them alive. Arya, go with them and remember your target."

The majority of Jon's entourage headed for the doors to the rest of the keep while he and the few remaining soldiers turned once more towards the iron throne, and the line of lannister knights and kingsguard who were now facing Leaf and her kind. A lannister kingsguard laughed as he took in the sight of their opponents. "This isn't exactly a fair fight, is it Ser Jaime?"

"You are completely right, Ser Meryn" Leaf replied instead of the kingslayer. The guard appeared surprised that Leaf addressed him by name, but Leaf kept talking so he couldn't ask how she knew it. "You really should call for reinforcements."

Jon chuckled at Leaf's remarks. This was a complete mismatch, but not in the way the lannisters and their allies were thinking. Jon had seen the children train while they were on dragonstone: the lannisters did not stand a chance of winning.

Leaf raised her sword upward, gripping the handle with both hands. Her eyes turned the milky white they did when she summoned her powers, and suddenly she leaped into the air. The guard she had addressed went wide eyed in shock as he saw her summersault over him and the rest of the guards to land directly behind them. He just barely managed to turn around before Leaf swung her sword at his legs, cleaving through his left knee in a single strike. The guard screamed in agony as he fell to the ground. The other guards didn't even register what had happened in their minds before Leaf was once more leaping into the air, this time joined by the rest of the children. Each one landed behind a lannister and repeated what Leaf had done to Meryn, sending more of them to the floor screaming.

At this point the remaining guards were moving to attack, but it was of no use. The children each appeared as a blur as they spun and slashed at their numerous opponents, the clanging sound of metal on metal filling the entire room. Leaf raised her sword to block a strike that she noticed came from the one known as the kingslayer. She smiled in amusement: this one was lucky Jon wanted him alive and relatively unharmed. She leapt spinning off the ground, aiming her sword at his shoulder. Impressively, the lannister managed to raise his own sword to block her attack. Thrown off for a split second, Leaf had recovered by the time she landed on her feet. Staying on the offensive, she followed with a series of jabs and thrusts towards his knees, forcing her opponent to keep stepping backwards. She could tell he was a man of great martial skill, but his missing right hand was clearly hindering him. Finally, her opponent was stunned when he backed into a pillar, giving her the opening she needed . She sprang forward into the air, and aimed a well placed kick to Jaime's face. The force of the blow sent his head backwards to slam into the pillar, and the kingslayer slumped to the floor completely unconscious.

From the corner of his eye, Jon noticed someone from behind lean towards his left ear, and turned slightly to see it was Lady Brienne. "Your grace" she whispered, her voice laced with a humorous undertone. "I would like to recommend a replacement for myself in your kingsguard." Jon snorted in amusement.

He turned his gaze back towards the fight, only to see that it was already over. Leaf and the rest of her kind were standing amongst a large group of crippled or dead enemies, drops of blood dripping from their swords. Jon looked up at the iron throne to see a dumbstruck Joffrey looking down at what was his last line of protection. Jon walked forward until he was at the base of the stairs that led up to the throne, drawing Joffrey's attention to him.

"So, are you going to surrender peacefully or not?"

The answer to Jon's question came when Joffrey grabbed his own sword and, with an angry scream, charged at him. Jon fought the urge to start laughing as he sidestepped his pathetic opponent. Not bothering to draw longclaw, Jon grabbed Joffrey by the arm, spun him around and punched him right in the face. Joffrey was knocked off his feet as he fell backwards and landed unconscious on the floor.

Jon looked around the room to see all the remaining lannister guards throwing their weapons down and falling to their knees, joined shortly by the smallfolk who were also present. He then turned to his kingsguard and soldiers who were still present. "Secure the doors to the room."

As his guards moved towards the front and side entrances of the throne room, Jon turned his gaze towards the iron throne once more. This was it, the moment the three-eyed raven had told him would come. As he ascended the stairs to his family's ancestral seat of power, he couldn't help feeling disgusted with how much blood had been spilled over the last twenty years for this. Despite the fact that the throne represented ultimate power in westeros, it was still nothing more than a glorified chair. Not worth destroying countless lives for. Jon hesitated slightly once he reached the throne before he turned and sat down on what was his birthright. The first thought that came to his mind in that moment was "wow, this thing is as uncomfortable as I expected."

* * *

Down in the tunnels of the red keep, Littlefinger ran past the numerous skeletons of the long dead dragons in an effort to escape the forces attacking the capitol. While he felt anger that all his carefully laid plans were crumbling around him, it was nothing compared to the fear that was now at the forefront of his mind. His plan to assassinate the targaryen had backfired, and now he needed to escape before he was caught. One of his spies had informed him that his role in the attempt on the targaryen's life had somehow been exposed and he needed to flee. Perhaps the vale could offer him protection until he could find a way out of this mess, or perhaps he should just go straight for essos instead.

Suddenly, there was a strange flash of movement in the corner of his sight. A split second later, he felt a horrible pain in his leg as a sword went through the back of his right knee. He collapsed in pain as he felt the sword withdraw from his leg, only to come down and go through his left shoulder seconds later. Screaming in agony, Littlefinger felt someone push him onto his back. He managed to fight through the pain to finally see his attacker. It was a young girl of northern descent who looked extremely familiar. The girl placed her hand in his cloak and pulled out the catspaw dagger that he had used years ago to frame house lannister.

"Hello Baelish" his attacker said. "Do you remember what you did to my father here in the red keep years ago?"

Littlefinger's eyes went wide as he finally recognized this girl. "Arya Stark. You have come to gloat, haven't you?"

"No" Arya said as she raised the dagger. "I've come to say 'good night,' you son of a bitch."

Arya swung the dagger downwards, and Littlefinger started choking on his own blood as a gash opened up on his neck.

* * *

Cersei threw the door to the small council's meeting room open to find her father, Olenna Tyrell, her granddaughter Margarery and her handmaidens, the mountain and Tommen all gathered amongst a group of Tyrell and Lannister guards. Tommen looked completely terrified while her father looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack. Slamming the door shut and placing a wooden beam in front to keep it locked, she rushed to Tommen's side and embraced her youngest son. This nightmare was like Stannis' attack all over again.

"HOW?!" her father shouted. "HOW HAS THIS WRETCHED BASTARD STAYED SO MANY STEPS AHEAD OF ME?! IT'S LIKE HE KNOWS ALL MY PLANS THE INSTANT I MAKE THEM!"

Olenna had a strange look on her face as she turned towards Tywin. "I don't know" she said. Cersei noticed that she appeared to have a smug look on her face as she answered.

"What about our secret weapons?! Why aren't they being used?! Olenna, your men were supposed to start shooting them the instant the dragon got close enough!"

Olenna heard the faint sound of footsteps outside the room getting closer, and decided to answer Tywin's question. After all, her king had already won. "Well, I told them to disarm the wildfire ballistae. I couldn't risk those weapons actually being used, now could I?"

Cersei and Tywin's eyes widened, and looks of complete rage appeared on their faces as they realized what had happened. "You treacherous, backstabbing, double dealing little..." Tywin said. "Ha, you're one to talk about backstabbing Tywin." Olenna laughed as her guards surrounded her in a protective circle. "How does it feel to finally be the victim of it yourself?"

"I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF FOR THIS!"

Tywin's outburst was followed immediately by a loud crash as the door to the room was knocked down. A group of men entered the room, led by a northerner in mercenary armor. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that Tywin Lannister" the man said.

"Asher" Margarery's handmaid Mira Forrester cried out from the side. The man looked in her direction and smiled.

"Hello sister. It's been quite a long time."

Asher Forrester turned his attention back to Tywin. "I must thank you for making this so easy: you lannisters gathered all in one room for us to find and capture. I ask you to surrender peacefully."

"Not all of them" a voice came from behind Asher. Sandor Clegane stepped forward, his eyes set firmly on his brother the mountain as he drew his sword. "Hello Gregor. I've been waiting for this day for years."

Gregor Clegane responded with a roar of anger as he drew his sword and lunged at his hated brother. As the Cleganes crossed blades, the entire room descended into complete chaos. Asher's surrender offer was completely discarded as an all out melee between the allied forces and the lannisters and their guards began.

Sandor cringed in slight pain as he blocked his brother's strike. Normally, he wouldn't fight Gregor head on like this. His brother's immense size and strength gave him a ludicrously unfair advantage in a battle, and he was suffering for it now. However, there was one advantage Sandor had and that was the room itself. Gregor couldn't bring his full strength against him without enough space to swing his sword, and the cramped space in the room was preventing him from doing that. So now, while Gregor was still physically stronger the odds were more evened up.

Forcing Gregor's sword back, Sandor lunged forward in a stabbing move. His attack made contact with Gregor's armor and thus did no actual damage to his opponent, but it left a deep gash in it that exposed the chest. Gregor snarled and punched Sandor clean in the face, forcing the two brothers apart once more. Sandor barely managed to recover from his slight daze in time to see Gregor pull the same trick he'd just used. Sandor sidestepped, avoiding the thrust. Raising his own sword as high as he could, Sandor brought it down in an effort to literally disarm his opponent. Gregor pulled back, keeping Sandor from slicing his hand off, but the blow connected with his sword knocking it from his grasp.

The lack of weapon was no real issue for Gregor. He merely tackled Sandor, causing his brother to drop his own weapon. The two brothers fell out into the hall, Gregor landing on top. Noticing this, Gregor pinned Sandor and proceeded to beat him in the face. Sandor looked up once his brother stopped, only to see Gregor raising his fists high into the air. He knew what Gregor planned: he was going to crush his skull.

However, Gregor let out a sharp cry of pain before he carry out his attack. Sandor saw blood flowing from the gash in his brother's armor. "Remember me?" a voice called out. Both looked to see Arya Stark standing there. "She must have completed her mission" Sandor thought. Gregor turned his fury on the young girl, leaping to his feet and trying to strangle her. Not only did Arya water-dance out of his reach, Gregor allowed her brother to get up once more. Grabbing a lit torch from the wall, Sandor jabbed it at Gregor's face. His brother screamed in agony as half his face was burned.

"HOW DOES IT FEEL" Sandor shouted. He didn't give Gregor a chance to respond, as he immediately swung the torch as hard as he could. The torch collided with Gregor's head, exploding in a hail of splintered shards of wood and ashes, and Gregor Clegane slumped to the floor.

Sandor looked down on his now unconscious brother. "You are extremely lucky the king wants you still breathing."

* * *

The fighting continued for three more hours. The targaryen armies fought with lannister guards on each street and district while the dragons attacked a relief force that was heading to assist Tywin's forces. In the end, house lannister couldn't stand against the allied forces. With the capture of casterly rock and king's landing, the reign of the lannisters had come to an end.

Jon was looking out upon the city from the battlements of the red keep. While they managed to keep the smallfolk casualties to a minimum, much of the city's infrastructure had been damaged or destroyed in the fighting. "Buildings can be replaced, but the people who use them can't" he said to himself. He was glad the fighting was finally done. His remaining family had also made it through intact: Arya had made it through the fighting in the keep while Daenerys had stayed out of harm's reach riding her dragon.

Jon turned when he heard approaching footsteps, and seeing Daenerys walking towards him only made him feel all the more grateful that his family was alright. "Well Jon" Daenerys said. "We fin..." She was cut off when Jon pulled her into his arms and kissed her full on the mouth, just as she had done to him days ago when they departed dragonstone. Daenerys quickly responded in kind, wrapping one arm around Jon's back while fisting his hair in her other hand.

Jon was so grateful that he hadn't lost Daenerys like he did Ygritte that he didn't care about anything else in that moment. Not the guards watching, the amused laughter of Arya when she showed up, or any other possible distraction. He just didn't care.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey all.** **Well, here is the climax. Jon finally brings the Lannisters to justice.**

 **I'm planning on making a new account for this site. I've been having too many issues with this one. I'll let you all know what my new one is when I post the last chapter of this story.**

* * *

 **King's Landing, one month later**

Jon lay on his side in bed in the royal chambers, his arms wrapped around his wife as he kissed her. Daenerys smiled at him as they separated, rubbing one hand on Jon's cheek. The sun had risen only an hour ago, and the light shining through the windows bathed them in a golden glow that perfectly represented their mood. Although their marriage (which occurred days after they took King's Landing) was officially for political purposes to ensure infighting amongst the newly restored royal line wouldn't occur, Jon and Daenerys had grown beyond their initial attraction to each other and were now falling deeper and deeper in love. For those who knew Jon growing up, the change in his attitude was quite remarkable. He was seen with genuine smiles on his face and he wasn't brooding in thought anywhere near as often as he used to. Arya said it was a nice change in him, and that she wished this had happened before the former king had traveled to Winterfell years ago to recruit their father as his hand so their entire family could see him so happy.

"I wish we could just stay like this all day" Jon told Daenerys, running a hand down her side.

"Who says we can't? We are the rulers, after all."

Jon chuckled at her response. "As much as I want to, I don't think we should put off the trial anymore."

After the fall of King's Landing and the capture of the Lannisters, Jon felt it would be smarter to wait until the realm was more secure to put Tywin and the others on trial. Although the Lannisters were defeated, there were still numerous lords who were resisting the new Stark-Targaryen regime. If they allowed them time to disappear into hiding, they could face some serious uprisings in the future. Chief among these lords was Randyll Tarly, who had turned against the Tyrells and raised an army loyal to the treacherous Lannisters. He had done this to keep Jon from following through with his plan to reinstate Sam as the heir to their family. Jon found it pathetic that Sam's father was so prejudiced towards his eldest son, especially since Sam was pretty much all he had left. When Tarly's wife learned the truth of Sam's decision to join the night's watch, she took all her children and left him. Randyll had been captured weeks after the fall of kings landing, and forced to watch as Jon personally reinstated Sam as the new head of House Tarly.

But that had only been one of the issues the new royal couple needed to face in the days following their great victory. They needed to deal with quite a few issues concerning the smallfolk's wellbeing (many of which were only occurring due to Jon's declaration of war against the Lannisters) as well as fanatics within the southern kingdoms' faith. When it became clear to all that Jon truly was the legitimate child of Rhaegar and Lyanna, certain members of the faith of the seven's leadership were outraged. They felt it was an insult and direct threat to them that the new king followed the old gods of the first men, especially since Jon brought the children of the forest with him. Some septas were starting to try to undermine Jon and Daenerys' rule by saying that such rulers should be removed from power to keep them from destroying the faith. Unfortunately for them, Jon and Daenerys had four dragons at their command which was keeping any dissidents from rising up. Jon also decreed that there was to be no religious persecution throughout Westeros. If the kingdoms needed to find true unity, they couldn't afford to be arguing about such personal issues.

Now however, the situation was stable enough that Jon could focus on the Lannisters. Plus, House Martell had had enough fun "looking after" the captured Tywin and Gregor Clegane.

 _Jon sat on the iron throne the day after the battle in the capitol took place. Daenerys was sitting in a smaller throne next to him. They decided they would rotate who sat on the iron throne at different times so they could show the people that they were sharing the power of the monarchy equally. However, it was an unspoken agreement that Jon sit on the throne today. After all, as far as the people knew they were passing judgment on the former royal line today._

 _"Send in the prisoners" Jon called out._

 _Two of his guards opened the door and in walked (or perhaps a more appropriate term would be dragged) Tywin Lannister followed by Gregor Clegane, Jaime and Cersei, and finally Joffrey. Tywin and Clegane were restrained with steel chains that were wrapped around them in a way that kept either from moving their arms, an extra insult to Tywin as he was brought before the scions of two families that he so monstrously wronged. They were all forced to within a few feet in front of the stairs leading to the thrones, surrounded by the citizens of King's Landing who had come to see what would happen._

 _Jon stared down at the man who killed his siblings, both his true siblings and Robb. "Well, well, well, we meet at last Tywin Lannister."_

 _Tywin had a look of complete hatred on his face as he stared back. "The mad king's grandson, and his daughter."_

 _Tywin had meant to insult the two monarchs, but what he didn't realize is both Jon and Daenerys were past caring about Aerys' legacy; they were determined to show all that they would rule differently. Jon merely responded with an insult of his own. "That's it? Months of preparation since you first learned of my existence and THAT was the best remark you could come up with? I'm disappointed, I thought you were smarter than that."_

 _The room filled with laughter from the northern soldiers and Martell bannermen who were present. Joffrey was red in the face with anger as he turned his head to see the people laughing at his grandfather. "Shut up! All of you! You're nothing more than traitors, that bastard's lackeys! You can't laugh at any of your superiors!"_

 _"They aren't Joffrey" Jon replied. "They're laughing at their inferiors." Jon's remark caused more laughter to echo throughout the throne room._

 _"Traitors! All of you!" Joffrey was starting to rant. "I'll see you all dead for this!"_

 _"Ser Barristan" Daenerys said to the kingsguard standing next to her. "Would you please quiet that little wretch? If he keeps doing this we'll never finish this."_

 _"With pleasure, your grace." Ser Barristan descended the stairs, walked right in front of Joffrey, and punched him right in the face. The force caused the tyrant to slump to the ground unconscious. Cersei screamed and tried to attack Ser Barristan, only to be restrained._

 _"Now Tywin" Jon said, drawing the attention of the entire room. "Fortunately for you, we cannot afford to perform your trial today. As I'm sure you remember, a relief army attempted to aid you during the attack on the capitol. We learned that the relief army was led by Randyll Tarly, and that he has created a coalition of lords who intend to resist our rule. Daenerys and I intend to root out these traitors first."_

 _"However, I don't wish for you to feel neglected. Therefore, I am placing you, your family and 'Ser' Clegane in the custody of House Martell until we can afford to return our full attention to you."_

 _Tywin's eyes widened in horror and slowly turned his head to the side. In the corner of the crowded room, Doran and Oberyn staring right at him with anxious looks on their faces. Indeed, the residents of the red keep would report that in the weeks following the Stark-Targaryen departure to hunt down the coalition that the screams of Tywin and Gregor Clegane were heard throughout the entire keep each time the doors to the black cells were opened._

"But love" Daenerys playfully moaned, pulling him out of his memory. "I want to stay here. I want to make love to you all day long."

Jon's smile got wider. "Again, as much as I want to, we need to get out of bed. We still have a score to settle with our prisoners."

Daenerys knew this was true, but that didn't stop her from playfully trying to put the day off longer. She wrapped her legs around Jon's to try to keep him next to her, and started to wrestle him back down when he tried to get up.

"Dany" Jon half heartedly protested.

"No" she said as she wrapped her arms around his, linking her hands to further keep her husband entrapped. "We're staying right here."

"...Oh forget the day" Jon said, kissing her again. Unfortunately for the royal couple, it seemed like they were not going to get any extra time together that morning. Jon and Daenerys were finally forced to get up when Ghost, who also took up residence in the royal chambers, jumped up on the mattress with them and started licking them.

As they moved to get dressed for the day, Daenerys and Jon failed to notice Ghost follow Daenerys. She didn't realize it until she turned around once she was dressed to find him standing mere inches from her. "What are... Oh!" Daenerys let out a surprised yelp as Ghost stuck his snout between her legs and started nuzzling and licking her.

"He clearly takes after you, Jon."

* * *

Once more, Jon was sitting on the iron throne with Daenerys at his side as they prepared to commence the trial. He looked around the room at the benches that they set up for the spectators. Arianne Martell, her younger brothers and cousins were amongst crowd, as was Arya and Sansa (the latter had come down from the north to witness the downfall of the ones who made her life a nightmare for years. Tyrion was not present, as he returned to Casterly Rock to take up the position of Warden of the West. A strange incident had occurred while Jon and Daenerys were hunting down Randyll Tarly: Tyrion had come to the capitol from dragonstone and assisted the Martells in torturing Tywin. Apparently he got a letter from Jaime confessing the truth of what happened to Tysha, and decided to repay Tywin upon finding out his first wife had genuinely loved him. Once Tyrion had let all his anger out, he returned to his reluctance at seeing his family's punishment and headed for his ancestral home. Tyrion certainly had a strange relationship with the other Lannisters.

"Jon." A voice/presence made itself known to Jon, and he immediately recognized it as a greenseer reaching out to him.

"Bran?"

"Yes Jon, it's me. I finally increased my powers to the point where I can reach out to others. Jon, I need to ask something of you. Please, don't kill Jaime Lannister."

"What?! How can..."

"Jon, I know what he did to me. But through my training, I've seen his actions following his departure from Winterfell. He really has changed from what he once was, and he deeply regrets what he did. Jon, please, I beg you to show him mercy."

The connection to his cousin/brother faded, and Jon was left reeling from the request he just got. He didn't have time to reflect on it though, and Doran Martell was escorted to his other side in his wheelchair. "Your graces" he said to Jon and Daenerys. "We're ready to start."

Jon nodded and turned to the guards at the front doors of the throne room. "Send them in."

The door opened and the Lannisters were once more led into the room. Tywin, however, was walking in a hobbled fashion, like he could hardly remain standing. Tyrion and the Martells had clearly held nothing back. Clegane also showed signs of torture, though his physical health and stature meant he was capable of shrugging his injuries off. Although, he had a look of complete hatred on his face as he stared at the Martells: Jon learned that Doran had personally castrated the man as punishment for what happened to Elia, and he'd done it extremely slowly.

"You stand accused of numerous crimes against numerous great houses" Jon said, officially starting the trial. "If I was to name all of them, this trial would go on all day, so I will merely state a general list. You are accused of mass murder, conspiracy, regicide, sacrilege and rape. Tywin Lannister, I address you for the group of accused: how do you plea?"

"Don't bother" the fallen lord snarled. "It is clear to me that you have no interest in judging us fairly. So I will let the gods decide our fates. I demand a trial by combat."

"That is within your right" Daenerys said. "Do you have a champion?"

"Ser Clegane will represent us all."

Gregor Clegane glared up at the monarchs as the crowd started talking amongst themselves. As the occupants of the room started to disperse, Oberyn approached Jon and Daenerys. "Your graces, I understand that it is customary for the monarchy to be championed through the kingsguard, but I request to fight for you in this trial."

"Prince Oberyn" Jon said. "I appreciate the offer. But we already decided on our champion."

"The Lannisters only just requested a trial through combat."

Jon turned his sight to Ghost, who was sitting between him and his wife, and scratched his companion on the head. "We anticipated this, and I assure you our chosen champion will easily win this."

* * *

The trial took place in the empty plaza in front of the Great Sept of Baelor. Many were confused as to why the monarchs wanted such a large area for this. Jon, Daenerys, and their entourage were seated on a huge raised platform on the steps leading to the city's holy site. The Lannisters were held at the base of the platform while Ser Clegane was standing in the middle of the cleared area.

Jon stood and raised his voice to ensure all present could hear him. "This trial will now commence. The accused is championed by Ser Gregor Clegane. Now, will the champion of the crown please announce themselves and come forth."

The response was a massive roar from somewhere out of sight. The entire crowd turned in the direction of the sept to see Blizzard descend from the sky and land in the cleared plaza, his landing setting off a slight tremor while his wings created a gust that accidentally knocked quite a few people off their feet. The dragon reared onto his hind legs, tucking his wings in and bringing his front legs up, displaying his enormous foot claws. Ser Clegane suddenly looked terrified, as did the Lannisters.

"The crown will be represented by the last ice dragon" Jon called out.

"You can't do this" Cersei Lannister shrieked up at him. "You can't use an animal as a champion!"

The dragon turned his head towards the Lannisters and snarled.

"I wouldn't use that term to describe my friend" Jon called out. "He may seem like a mere animal, but I assure you he is more."

"High septon" Jaime Lannister called out, addressing the religious leader who was near the front of the crowd. "This can't be allowed."

The entire crowd turned towards the head of the faith of the seven. After a moment, the old man finally spoke up. "While I admit this is highly unusual, I'm afraid there is no rule against one's champion not being human. This is not a fracture of the rules of trial by combat."

"In the interest of fairness" Jon called out once the high septon finished speaking, "the dragon will not use his dragonfyre or take flight. He will fight on the ground." This decree did nothing to change anyone's opinion of the Lannister's chances of escape. This was like throwing a mouse to a cat whose nails were filed. Ser Clegane didn't stand a chance.

"Let the trial begin!"

The dragon lowered his head slightly to stare directly at his opponent. Gregor Clegane was shaking, too terrified to do anything. Than the dragon reached out with one of its feet, his claws fully bared out. Clegane just barely managed to leap to the side and dodge the raking of the ground, tiles tearing up as the dragon withdrew his initial attack. Clegane decided to try to get under the dragon, intending to thrust the spear he was armed with into his opponents groin. It was clear to the crowd that the Lannisters' champion was not thinking things through: all the dragon had to do was lower itself down and Clegane would be crushed.

Surprisingly, the dragon didn't sit down on Clegane. Instead he used his massive tail to knock Clegane off his feet and send him flying into one of the temporary walls of the arena. Blizzard than got down on all fours and approached the now helpless knight. Using his mouth, the dragon grabbed Clegane by the leg and hoisted him into the air. Clegane screamed in terror as he was tossed up, and as Blizzard opened his mouth once more. The last thing Gregor Clegane would see was the open jaws of the ice dragon closing around him. Blizzard caught his opponent in his mouth and, in one gulp, swallowed the infamous mountain that rides whole.

After a moment of stunned silence, the crowd turned towards the new king as he addressed them all once more. "The gods have made their will clear. The Lannisters are guilty of all the crimes they are accused of."

Daenerys rose from her seat and addressed Ser Barristan and Lady Brienne. "Escort the prisoners up to this stand."

As the kingsguard descended to get the Lannisters, Oberyn once more approached Jon. "As entertaining as it was to watch that, I feel you let Clegane die too quickly."

"Oh, he isn't dead just yet."

Jon turned to look at Oberyn, who had a confused look on his face. "That man killed my siblings before raping and murdering my mother's co-wife. Did you think I would let him off so easy as to give him a quick death? Assuming he doesn't suffocate, Gregor Clegane will die slowly and in considerable agony as he is dissolved alive in Blizzard's stomach."

Oberyn's eyes widened before he looked extremely excited. "Ellaria forgive me, I think I'm in love again."

"I'm flattered" Jon replied in a grossed out voice. "Although, I'm happily married."

"Good, I was talking about your dragon."

* * *

The Lannisters were brought up onto the platform and held to the side as Jaime was led forward and forced to his knees. Jon approached him and once more rose his voice. "Ser Jaime Lannister, you and the rest of your family are guilty of the crimes brought against you. However, you will confess what you personally did to House Stark, and to ensure you do so, I brought along a guarantee."

Jon motioned to someone in the crowd, and a soldier marched what looked like a child to the center of the arena. Jaime's eyes widened in horror as he saw this child was Tommen.

"You will confess to the world what you did, or watch as your nephew joins Ser Clegane in my dragon's stomach."

Several people from the monarchy's entourage gasped in horror, Sansa and Arianne amongst them. Cersei cried out, struggling against her captors as she tried to free herself. Jaime's gaze switched from Jon to Tommen numerous times as the king waited for his response.

Finally, Jon reached the end of his patience with Jaime. "Very well."

"No" Jaime creid out at the top of his lungs. "I threw Bran Stark out of a tower window! I tried to kill him!"

Jon stared back at Jaime."Why would you do such a thing?"

"Bran Stark had seen Cersei and I having sex! I couldn't risk him telling anyone! If Robert Baratheon found out, he would kill us both as well as the three children!"

Jon cast a quick glance towards the other Lannisters, seeing that Tywin's eyes were widening in horror as understanding of what his son was saying finally dawned on him. Cersei, meanwhile, was also horrified that Jaime had just exposed their affair to the world.

"I see how you and your sister would be executed, but surely you couldn't think the usurper would kill his own children for their mother's crimes?"

Jaime suddenly realized what Jon had gotten him to admit to, and hesitated before finally finishing his explanation. "I... the rumors about the royal children are true. None of them are the children of Robert Baratheon. They are my bastards that I fathered with my twin sister."

A stunned silence fell upon those present in the plaza. Jon once more turned to look at Tywin, and was pleased to see that the old politician looked like he just had all that was important to him stolen from him, which was exactly the case. Joffrey also looked like he was shocked into silence.

Jon finally turned towards the crowd. "You may remove the child" he called out to the guard. As Tommen was led back into the crowd, Jon turned towards Jaime. "I am once again grateful for the idiocy of House Lannister in thinking that a child raised by Ned Stark would resort to killing innocent children. It helped me when I faked the massacre at the twins and it now has helped me prove my uncle was telling the truth about the Lannisters' scheme."

Jaime looked incredulously at Jon, which only caused him to laugh. "Did you honestly think I would resort to slaughtering women and children? No, I led those guards from the twins to think that so you and your idiot father would think I was a ruthless tyrant. So again, thank you for falling for my bluff."

Jon took pleasure in seeing how dumbstruck Jaime looked before continuing. "Now, I was going to execute you for your attempted murder of my brother. However, Bran asked me to show you mercy. Yes, the boy you tried to kill is the one who spoke out against your death. Therefore, your life will be spared."

Jaime's shocked look was wiped off his face almost instantly as Jon finished his statement with a punch to the face. Jaime felt his nose break from the force of the blow. "I will deal with you later Jaime Lannister. For now, you will remain in our custody."

Two guards stepped forward and took Jaime away.

"Ok, bring the Lannister whore forward." Jon's command saw Cersei dragged forward to where Jaime had been placed.

"Cersei Lannister, you orchestrated the death of Robert Baratheon as well as betrayed my uncle, Lord Eddard Stark. As king of the seven kingdoms, I sentence you to die."

Jon drew his sword as Cersei was forced onto a chopping block. However, he didn't immediately raise it to strike. Instead, Jon decided to taunt her first. "You know, it's ironic" he said. "I heard you were always obsessed with my father Rhaegar as a child. You wanted nothing more than to marry him. But you missed your chance because you weren't good enough, instead my father took Elia Martell of Dorne as his wife.

Cersei looked up and appeared to want to strangle Jon for publically insulting her beauty.

"Then it only got worse" Jon continued. "You were present at the tournament at Harrenhall, yet Rhaegar only had eyes for my mother Lyanna Stark. You, the so called most beautiful woman in Westeros, were once more passed up for another woman. Rhaegar took my mother as a second wife and left you behind once again. Then when you were married to Robert Baratheon, and he never cared for you. He was too in love with my mother to even consider turning any real attention to you. You were never the great beauty of Westeros, you were merely a glorified consolation prize."

Cersei tried to lunge at Jon and was now snarling and squealing like a rabid animal. Jon merely kicked her in the face, forcing her back into the arms of the guards who dragged her up.

"Now," Jon continued. "You are not only losing the position of queen to someone FAR more beautiful, but the son of Lyanna Stark, the woman who ruined your chance to marry my father as well as destroyed your marriage before it truly began, is the one who will finish you off. Quite poetic, isn't it?"

Jon finally brought Longclaw up as Cersei was forced down on the block. "Farewell" Jon said, and swung the sword down to remove the tyrannical former queen's head. Seconds later, the guards dragged her body away.

Immediately after this, Joffrey was brought to the exact space and forced to his knees.

"Joffrey Waters" Jon said. "You are guilty of mass murder of Robert Baratheon's children as well as the murder of my uncle, Lord Eddard Stark. For these and your many other crimes, I sentence you to die. Do you have any last words?"

Joffrey's response was as idiotic as it was arrogant. "I should have killed you back in Winterfell when I had the chance."

"Interesting, since you never had that chance." Unexpectedly, Jon than stepped away from Joffrey after saying this. "Normally, I follow my uncle's policy of 'the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.' However, this time I will not do so. Your life is not mine to take."

"It isn't" Joffrey asked.

"No" Jon replied as he pointed behind Joffrey. "That would be theirs."

Numerous growls were heard, and Joffrey turned to see three angry direwolves approaching him.

"What is this" he asked in terror.

"Do you remember my sisters' direwolves, Lady and Nymeria? These are their surviving brothers who have been wanting to catch up with you ever since Lady was put down." Jon then turned towards Ghost and his brothers (whom Jon had requested be transported from the north to the capitol). "Enjoy" he said, motioning towards the former king.

At Jon's words, Ghost sprang at Joffrey and sank his teeth into his arm, followed by Summer and Shaggydog who each bit down on another part of him. Joffrey screamed in agony as the three direwolves tore into him and, like the assassin he sent after Jon, was eaten alive. The crowd of spectators started cheering as the saw and heard Joffrey's end. After several minutes, the pack had completely torn Joffrey apart, and each were chewing on a separate limb.

Jon reached out with his warging and encouraged the pack to take what was left of their meal and finish it somewhere else. With Joffrey's remains dragged off, Jon finally had Tywin brought forward.

"Tywin Lannister, you orchestrated the rape and murder of Elia Martell as well as the murder of three of my siblings: Elia Martell's children and Robb Stark. For your crimes, both the ones named here and the ones not mentioned, you are sentenced to death" Jon said. "However, I am not entirely without mercy. I will allow your legacy to live on. Tyrion is taking your place as lord of Casterly Rock, while you still have two grandchildren. Who cares is they are bastards from your own twin children? Who cares if your name will be a laughing stock for all generations to come? You still have some family who will continue your legacy."

Tywin stared at Jon with complete hatred on his face. Jon's words were a complete insult to him: the exposure of the truth about Jaime and Cersei's incestuous relationship, combined with his ensuring Tyrion inherited Casterly Rock, had undone all of his life's work to rebuild the Lannister name from the damage his own father had caused. Jon had single-handedly destroyed Tywin's legacy.

Jon's attitude changed from mocking scorn to complete rage in less than a second. "There is no punishment in this world that could make you suffer enough for all the lives you destroyed."

Tywin's eyes went wide in shock at Jon's words. That was exactly what the Targaryen said in his nightmares. How could... His train of thought was cut off as Jon grabbed him by the throat and started beating him. After causing numerous facial wounds to open up on Tywin's face, Jon forced Tywin towards the edge of the platform and slammed him against the railing.

"Therefore, I will let the gods decide how you will be punished in the next life. Farewell, monster."

As Jon walked away, he raised his hand as a signal, and music started playing from somewhere in the crowd. Tywin recognized the tune immediately: it was the Rains of Castamere. As one final insult, Jon chose to play the song written in honor of Tywin's most famous triumph at his execution.

Jon turned to face Tywin once he reached Daenerys' side and his eyes turned milky white as he summoned his warging. Merging with Blizzard, Jon had his dragon lift off from the plaza and land on top of the Sept behind the platform they were all on. Seeing through his friend's eyes, Jon noticed how scared Tywin looked. It was now time.

Jon and his dragon, combined as one in that moment, unleashed a torrent of dragonfyre that engulfed the old lion of Casterly Rock. When they stood down and Jon returned to his own body, he saw Tywin completely frozen. Walking to his fallen enemy, he raised his right leg and kicked Tywin over the edge, sending his family's tormentor falling to the ground where he shattered on impact.

 **So Clegane and Joffrey were turned to shit, Cersei was faced with her inferiority** **to Elia Martell and Lyanna Stark, and Tywin has had his precious legacy ruined. I'd call that poetic justice after all they did.**

 **Last is an epilogue.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I apologize for the confusion I caused some people while working on this. I was editing some chapters and decided to take out the author's notes chapter. On the plus side, I added more content on to some earlier chapters.**

 **Ok, I have a new account for this site. My new account is Jedi Kyle Katarn.**

 **Now, here is the ending. The epilogue is going to mostly be light humored fun with some foreboding.**

* * *

 **Three Years Later**

Sansa stood on the battlements of Winterfell's outer walls looking out at the surrounding countryside. After watching the Lannisters' trial, she had returned home and took up leadership in Jon's name. She was the new warden of the North, though whether she would remain so once Rickon was old enough was something she didn't know.

Her gaze fell upon a formation of soldiers who were training out in the fields. One of Jon's decisions upon becoming king was to issue a decree that the lords of all the kingdoms start rotating their soldiers to the north for training. As the Stark saying went, Winter is Coming, and the southern kingdoms needed to prepare for fighting in it. She could hear Ser Thorne speaking to them. "You all think this is cold now? When winter comes, this will feel like a Dornish summer. Remember, you all are here to get a taste of what it is like to fight in the cold. It will only get worse when the White Walkers attack. They are an enemy unlike any you faced. Their soldiers will look just like us. They will look like men, women and children. But you must not hesitate to fight. The ones you face will already be dead, what you face will merely be a mindless thrall. You must destroy them, or they will do so to you."

Sansa smiled as she continued to watch one of the results of the many changes Jon and Daenerys had enacted. After taking the throne, the new monarchs set to work 'breaking the wheel.' They introduced many reforms that made life much easier for the smallfolk while also keeping the nobility satisfied. Jon had discarded his earlier act of imitating his grandfather's madness and assured the people that neither he nor Daenerys intended to rule tyrannically. Their top priority was the safety and well-being of the people. While it might have been hard for many to believe at first, the royal couple would soon prove their claims. Within a year, smallfolk from the Gift to the tip of Dorne were calling King Jaehaerys and Queen Daenerys the greatest rulers Westeros had ever known. Jon was particularly popular amongst the former free folk, whom had all bent the knee to him shortly after the war with the Lannisters was won. Their loyalty to him was so great that not a single member caused any further problems with their former enemies in the North. Sansa was quite grateful for this, since looking after the preparations for the coming winter while raising her twin sons Eddard and Robb was stressful enough.

"My lady" Winterfell's maester said as he approached her. "There is a letter here for you."

"Thank you" she replied as she took the letter. Upon opening it, Sansa saw it was from Arya. Her sister had gone south on Blizzard to visit Jon and his family almost a month ago. She was also going to see Gendry, whom was still working in King's Landing. She smiled as she remembered the young man whom would soon join their family. He was without a doubt a perfect match for Arya.

 _Dear Sansa,_

 _I hope you are doing well back home. King's Landing has really changed since we last saw it. Jon and Dany did an incredible job rebuilding the city. If it weren't for the red keep, I might not have recognized it. When I went to Flea Bottom to see Gendry, I was in shock at how much has changed. You can't call it a slum anymore._

 _Speaking of Flea Bottom, I heard something hilarious while I was there. Apparently Jon's method of dealing with Tywin has inspired a new nursery rime here in the city. I can't remember it all, but it was something about King's Landing's men failing to put Tywin together again. When I heard it the first time, I laughed so hard I fell to the ground. I also hear that Jon's campaign against the Lannisters is being turned into a play. I hope it comes to Winterfell when it is finished._

 _Jon and Daenerys are doing well. Their twins Rhaegar and Lyanna were sad that you weren't with me, but I told them you send your love. They send theirs as well, to you and their cousins. Daenerys is expecting again as well, so the twins will soon have another sibling to play with. You know, watching your children and Jon's and seeing how much joy they bring to you all, I'm hoping Gendry and I have one or two of our own some day._

 _I'll return home in another month. Make sure Rickon stays out of trouble and that Bran doesn't sink so deep into greenseeing that he forgets to eat._

 _Love Arya._

Sansa smiled upon finishing the letter. She and Arya had gotten much closer in the last few years. They had come to an understanding upon consoling the other about their father's death, and from there they started to turn their relationship into one of actual sisters.

Her train of thought made her turn her head towards Winterfell's courtyard. In the middle of it stood a new statue: a direwolf howling at the sky. Jon had commissioned it in Robb's memory, as well as the memory of Talisa, Lady Stark and all the other people who died at the red wedding. Their family had lost so much, but they were still standing strong.

"When the snow falls and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives."

* * *

 **King's Landing**

Jon and Daenerys were sitting on the veranda of the royal chambers, enjoying a pause in the life of the rulers of Westeros. While the stress of leadership was hard to handle at times, they had each other to lighten the load. Its good that they did, for they also had to raise two extremely rambunctious children. Rhaegar and Lyanna had been born less than a year after they married, most likely conceived on their wedding night or in the following week. They were their pride and joy, as well as an extreme headache. At three years old, the twins were already acting like Jon and Robb had when they were kids. Jon had lost count of the number of times they slipped away from Missandei to hide and see if she could find them, and Dany had nearly had a heart attack when Rhaegar asked them how someone got milk from an eel. When they realized Rhaegar had overheard Tyrion talking about one of his obscene stories, Dany had beaten the dwarf to a pulp and promised a worse beating if something like that happened again.

Thinking of Tyrion made Jon recall the aftermath of the trial of his family. He and Dany had ultimately decided to send Jaime Lannister to the wall. He was allowed to see his children one more time and than shipped off. Tyrion was enraged upon hearing of the trial. It wasn't Jaime's sentence that angered him, he was grateful Jon had spared his brother. It was how Jon had used Tommen that made Tyrion so angry. Tyrion knew Jon had no intention of hurting Tommen, but that didn't keep him from getting mad about how Jon had threatened to let Blizzard eat his nephew. Indeed, it would take quite a few months for Tyrion to really forgive his old friend for the stunt he pulled, the main catalyst for this was Jon's helping his friend locate Tysha (Shae had tragically disappeared from her home some time after she returned and while Tyrion tried to find her, he quickly came to feel that he would not see her again). Jon wasn't sure if Tommen had forgiven him yet.

Jaime's remaining children were placed in the custody of their uncle. While Tommen still resided at Casterly Rock, Myrcella had returned to Dorne. Her impending marriage to Trystane Martell meant she preferred to remain with her future family. She still wrote to Casterly Rock each day though. Tyrion also set to work rebuilding House Lannister from what his father and siblings had done to it. His efforts were a resounding success, and within a year House Lannister was free of its financial weights. That thought made Jon recall his early dealings with the iron bank. The iron bank had sent emissaries to King's Landing shortly after Jon and Daenerys took up residence in the red keep. Jon had spent almost a week telling them that House Targaryen was not responsible for the former royal line's expenses. They eventually came to an agreement upon where Jon and Dany paid half the money owed to the iron bank by Robert Baratheon. In return, not only did the iron bank agree to genuine business with House Targaryen once more but they would start purchasing any weapon in Essos that was made from vaylarian steel for Westeros' people. They would need those in the coming war with the White Walkers.

A knock on the door drew the royal couple's attention. "Enter" Dany called out. Missandei entered with Rhaegar and Lyanna. The twins were a perfect blend of their heritages. Rhaegar looked exactly like his grandfather except for the eyes, which he inherited from his Stark ancestors. Lyanna, on the other hand, inherited the Targaryen hair color while she took after the Starks in the rest of her features.

"What did they do now" Jon asked.

"Nothing, your grace" Missandei replied with a slight laugh. "The royal children are actually acting quite behaved today. We actually came..." Missandei was cut off by Rhaegar.

"Doran Martell and Princess Arianne are here, father."

A short time later, Jon and Dany were met with the leader of Dorne and his daughter as they were on their way to the small council chambers. Doran was walking again, his gout cured by the children months ago.

"Ah, your graces" Doran called out. "It seems we get to walk with you to our meeting."

"It is good to see you again" Daenerys said as they met.

"Wait" Arianne said. "We can put off the official meeting for a while. We should celebrate the good news."

"What do you mean" Jon asked.

"On our way here" Doran answered. "We ran into your 'sister' Arya. She told us you two are expecting again."

"Oh, that's right"

"Luckily" Arianne added. "I brought some of Dorne's famous wine with me. I know it's your house, but come. Let's celebrate."

"My queen" someone called out. The group turned to see Missandei running up to them. "I apologize, but it seems I spoke too soon earlier. The twins... well you need to see this for yourself."

"Coming" Daenerys said. "Jon, why don't you and the Martells go on ahead. I can't drink anyway in my condition."

After Daenerys and Missandei went to stop whatever the twins were doing, Jon walked to the meeting chamber with their guests. Upon arriving, Jon saw someone else waiting for them. "Leaf!"

The child stood on up when she saw Jon and the Martells enter. "Your grace, and the Martells. It is good to see you all again. Where is the queen?"

"Actually Leaf" Jo0n said. "We aren't starting the meeting just yet. This is more a social gathering."

"We're celebrating the good news" Arianne said.

"What good news?"

Arianne stared with wide eyes at Leaf. "You don't know?"

"I was on the Isle of Faces for the last few months with the rest of my kind. Contrary to popular belief, we are not omnipotent. We need to use our greenseeing to know something that happens elsewhere."

"Oh" Arianne said. "Well, the good news is the royal family will soon be getting bigger. The queen is having another baby."

Leaf's reaction was not what either Martell expected. The child's eyes widened and Leaf suddenly had a look of horror on her face. "NOW?!"

"No" Jon said. "She'll give birth in another seven months."

"Is there something I'm missing" Doran asked.

"Leaf helped deliver the twins" Jon answered.

"Oh, well in another seven months you can help again."

Leaf looked nervous at this remark. "Uh... unfortunately I won't be in the capitol at that point. I'll be away... far away... on the Isle of Faces again."

"I'll ask again, am I missing something?"

Jon couldn't help the slight laugh that escaped him. "Dany was not in a good mood when she went into labor. Well, Tyrion was present at the time and made the remark that Arya and Bran would owe him three gold dragons each. Apparently they had a pool going on when the twins would come. Leaf told him not to celebrate just yet, since a woman could be in labor for days. Unfortunately for her, she was within striking distance of Dany when she said that."

Leaf started rubbing her neck, the area Daenerys had grabbed and squeezed when she made her extremely poorly timed comment. "It was not pretty."

* * *

By the end of the day, Jon and Daenerys were embracing in their chambers, giving each other a series of light kisses as they rocked back and forth in a dance like swaying motion. They were enjoying their moment of peace, for both knew it wouldn't last forever.

The meeting with the Martells earlier that day had been about arranging for more of Dorne's soldiers to rotate to the North for training. The Dornish were not used to winter weather at all, and they more than anyone needed to experience what cold weather was like. While the war with the Lannisters was long over, the kingdoms couldn't get complacent. They had to prepare for the winter. Jon had fulfilled the role the three eyed raven had asked him to do so long ago, but even this might not be enough. Even with all the preparations they were making, the food the reach and other kingdoms were growing, the weapons they were making and acquiring, the soldiers they were training, it might not be enough to stop those monsters who would arrive in about another year (if the children's predictions were correct). When that day came, so many would suffer. Jon would also need prepare for the day when he would have to send his ice dragon away. Blizzard was so popular with the twins that it would devastate them when he left. It had to be done, otherwise he might get caught up in the coming war. As powerful as he was, the ice dragon was no use against the White Walkers. Therefore, he had to leave to keep him from trying to protect Jon and risk getting killed and falling under the thrall of those monsters. So much still needed to be done to prepare for the Long Night's return.

However, Jon wouldn't let this coming war distract him from enjoying himself and his family now. If he learned one thing from his quest to avenge Robb and reunite Westeros, it was that he had to appreciate those he loved while they were still with him. Ned Stark, Robb, Ygritte; they were all gone, though he knew they wouldn't want him to mourn them forever. They would always be with him in his heart, and it only helped Jon appreciate those he still had all the more.

 **Well, this is it all. I probably won't do another game of thrones fic anytime in the near future. I really want to focus on writing in the Star Wars genre. Disney has done too much damage for me to not try to fix it. If anyone is interested in helping me with my Star Wars fics, let me know. Use my new account though, because that's what I'll be using now.**

 **I hope that you all enjoyed my first story. I actually have an outline for a sequel planned. Like I said though, don't expect it for a while.**


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